Misfortunate Circumstances
by Accident Waiting to Happen
Summary: What if what society considered bad was actually the right thing to do? What if there's no good or bad? What if people are merely foolish to try and define right and wrong? In which, Sakura forges her own path, and Itachi just happens across her::Ita/Saku
1. The Definition of Good and Bad

_Good and bad are but names very readily transferable to that or this; the only right is what is after my constitution, the only wrong, what is against it._

_~Ralph Waldo Emerson_

Misfortunate Circumstances

When one is asked to differentiate between an angel and a demon, what does one say?

They look the same, don't they? Wasn't Lucifer an angel? Wasn't he banished to hell for trying to usurp God? So is the difference your reverence to leaders? Should you suppress defiance as opposed to displaying subservience?

But aren't we all told to think for ourselves, to not follow the crowd? Doesn't that take defiance? Doesn't that take leadership? Aren't we supposed to be question our leaders? To ensure that they have thought their own plants through? Shouldn't we be allowed to question our leaders? To question God?

So, is the difference between an angel and a demon merely where they hail from? Is it truly just the misfortune of where you are born? Children can't control whom their parents are anymore than a tree can control when it will rain. So, is it all centered around birth? Around something you can't control?

Then can an angel descend into hell and become a demon…can a demon ascend to heaven and become an angel? The angel, Lucifer fell to hell to become a demon…so isn't it only fair that a demon be allowed to rise to heaven as an angel? But who said that it was fair? Who said God was fair?

But, then again, who said that demons were the bad guys, maybe the angel's in their arrogance are unable to see right from wrong? Perhaps, the angels have misled us all? Maybe the labels of 'angel' and 'demon' are nothing more than meaningless labels…maybe, the nothing more than what people attach to them. Maybe there is no difference, and people are all nothing more than fools. Fools that mindlessly look for a differentiation between an intangible 'good' and 'evil.'

Plip. Plip. Plip.

Such an incessant sound. One that was practically guaranteed to drive a person insane.

Sakura stared mutinously at the slow leak from the pipe that ran the length of the ceiling. It was beginning to greatly annoy her, but she didn't think that Tsunade-shishou would be willing to waste funds to fix it anytime soon. After all, it was an interrogation unit. One that few shinobi were aware of.

It had been specially designed…and no one had ever escaped. It was one of the best kept secrets in Konoha, and Sakura was thoroughly disgusted by its existence. Being built underground afforded much privacy. The wails of its occupants went unnoticed, and the reviling means utilized to collect said wails were nothing short of tragically enrapturing. The methods, while destructive and bloody, had their own artistic flare to them, created a work that was beautiful if only in its effectiveness…a work that Sakura severely doubted even the most talented artist could compose on paper.

But it wasn't the destructive 'artwork' that she despised. No. That was necessary. That was useful.

What she despised was something that stood within the building. In fact, it was a prisoner. One that stood, a few mere yards away, and was concealed behind a two-inch concrete door. And, unfortunately, it was the one she was currently in charge of keeping alive until Ibiki had wringed every secret from the bastard's mind.

"Damn Uchiha," Sakura grumbled before turning the deadbolt and pushing the door open with a loud grating sound that resonated through the cell.

His lean body hung pitifully from the iron chains in the ceiling, his knees nearly touched the floor as his chin rested on his chest, for all appearances, seeming to be sleeping. Sakura looked disdainfully at the prisoner, her disgust at him evident in the cruel contortion of her face.

The atrophy of his muscles was obvious. His skin was pale and clammy, with dirt and grime covering his body like a second skin. Sakura could easily see the dried blood that had run down his arms from his abused wrists, evidencing the man's struggle to be free of the manacles. She watched as his fingers twitched at irregular intervals from above his head and she absently wondered if he was having a bad dream. His knotted hair hung in clumps, hiding his face. With a sigh, Sakura covered the short distance to his side. Carelessly, her hand grasped a chunk of his hair and ruthlessly pulled it back, lifting his head up and, in the process, revealing his haggard face.

Dark orbs narrowed at her, challenging her, but she brushed it off. She knew this look, she was used to it.

"You look like shit Uchiha," she commented lightly before placing a hand on his neck and pushing her chakra into his body.

He didn't respond as Sakura's chakra circulated his body, searching for any life-threatening injuries or infections. The contact only lasted for a few seconds, but Sakura felt _diseased_ for simply breathing the same air as the man before her. As soon as she determined him to be at least out of reach of Hell's gates for the time being, she released her grip on his hair and let his head fall back.

Without pause, she wiped her hands on the small dark rag that hung from her belt, trying to get off any invisible remnants that she had touched the man. She refused to look at him, but she could feel his eyes glaring daggers at her.

"Good. You're new best friend can come in and finish your interrogation. He'll be delighted to be able to…play with you again," Sakura remarked with a forced sense of mock cheer before turning on her heel and walking towards the exit.

"Why do you hate me?" His voiced rasped quietly, strained from disuse, but it was enough to cause Sakura to pause.

"Oh, are you feeling talkative? I think that's the first time you've spoken since you were dragged down here. Maybe I should get Ibiki now, ne?"

He didn't respond, but Sakura hadn't really expected him to either. Without another word, Sakura passed the doorway and resealed the cell. Without pause, she swept through the hallways, leaving Sasuke to his fate.

**What's up mis amigos? I hope that you enjoyed it, its my first story and I'm kind of excited. This is more or less of a prologue, so I know its super short, but the next chapter will be at least twice the length, so don't despair too much. **

**If you liked it, please leave some feedback. I can't improve without advice (also, I'm a shameless feedback whore, so don't deprive me)! Oh, and if I messed up anywhere, please let me know that too. Outside of that, I hope that you read the next chapter also **** Thanks for taking the time to read my story!**

**Ja ne!**

**~Accident Waiting to Happen~**


	2. The Depths of Suffering

_There are but Four Noble Truths:_

_Suffering is universal_

_The origin of suffering is attachment_

_The cessation of suffering is attainable_

_The path to the cessation of suffering is detachment_

_~Buddhist Saying_

The narrow corridor of the interrogation unit was an oppressing dark smudge, broken only by the low light emitted from the ever-burning torches that clung hopelessly to the wall. It created an air of desperation, of depression, that one was forever entombed by the cold, unfeeling, concrete walls.

This was where Sakura happened upon Ibiki. Initially, she had planned to leave the older nin a message in his office, but this would work just as well.

Sakura's footsteps halted a meter away from the man, her eyes staring him down, incriminating him for making her constantly visit this vile place. It was no secret that Sakura disliked the underground compound, but Ibiki couldn't have cared less. This was his domain, and she was under his orders, her distaste for his job and the prisoners were not his problem.

"The Uchiha is stable. You may continue."

Ibiki was well aware of Sakura's disgust with the Uchiha, and he couldn't help but agree with her. He rarely took any pleasure in torturing individuals, but with the Uchiha, it was personal. He had turned on his home, on his friends. But Ibiki enjoyed reminding the traitor that they were enemies now, that he had nowhere to return to, and he had nobody to trust in.

"Good," his deep voice answered. "You staying? Just in case."

_Just in case._ It was an addend. Something that didn't need explaining, but was put there as if an afterthought. As if, his existence didn't truly matter, as if it was merely a convenience that she could either prolong with her presence, or end with her absence. What a powerful thought. What a pitiful thought.

But, then again, she was contradicting herself. His existence was just a convenience, and his suffering, in some sick way, pleased her greatly. Sasuke had made Naruto suffer so much, had made Kakashi-sensei suffer…had made her suffer. Shouldn't he take responsibility for what he had inflicted? Wasn't that fair?

_No._ A treacherous voice whispered incessantly. It may be fair, but it wasn't what Naruto would want…

"I'll be around. Send for me if you need me," she answered.

Sakura barely gave the scarred veteran a glance as she walked past him, her shoulder lightly rubbing his in the narrow corridor. Ibiki's fading footsteps was the only response she received. Without looking back at the man, Sakura continued on her way, not sparing either the interrogator or the interrogated another thought.

**xXxXxXx**

Sasuke's eyes flashed up as he heard the heavy grate of the door. His blood began to boil at the sight of the shinobi. Ibiki had been his interrogator, and the man was nothing short of ruthless. Sasuke was well aware that this was going to be a repeat performance, but he refused to relent to the nin's ministrations. He refused to break and let Ibiki know anything.

"Uchiha."

The word reverberated through Sasuke's body, a disgusting reminder of the clan that he was born into. Of the clan that he had once foolishly thought to be faultless. Alas, ignorance is bliss, and the truth only left his mind plagued by the dishonor his family committed.

"Are you willing to say anything before I begin?"

Sasuke held his tongue. The childish part of him wished to spit at the man and call Ibiki as many derogatory names as he could think up, but the wiser part of him realized how futile that effort would be, how pointless. How his rant would only provoke Ibiki to torment him more, for anger was merely one of the first steps to giving into an interrogator.

Any reaction from Sasuke would only make Ibiki think he could stand a chance. And Sasuke greatly feared that Ibiki may just break him, his body and spirit couldn't take this much more, and his secrets needed to die with him. Nobody but the Uchiha's should know of their deceit, of their shame.

**xXxXxXx**

"Sakura-chan. Ne, why do you keep spacing out?"

The blonde stared expectantly at his pink-haired companion. She had been working a lot lately, and he was starting to get concerned.

Sakura smiled lightly in spite of herself. She didn't deserve him. She was keeping the imprisonment of his best friend a secret. And to add to it, she was furthering Sasuke's torment by healing him so that Ibiki could torment him again.

"I know! I'll go tell Baa-chan to lay off and give you a break! Then we can hang out more and you can catch up on some sleep!"

Half-heartedly Sakura cuffed Naruto on the head. Both of them knew he could dodge, and both knew she wasn't trying to hurt him, and yet, Naruto started pouting before bringing up a hand to rub at the slightly sore spot on his head. Old habits were hard to break.

"Show respect to your Hokage," she chastised, before turning back to the bowl of ramen in front of her. "Besides, I'm almost done. It's okay Naruto. Once it's finished, I'll feel much more relieved."

"Fine," he relented, as he picked up his chopsticks to continue eating.

A companionable silence followed, only broken by a wayward slurp from Naruto. Sakura demurely finished her bowl and neatly folded her chopsticks across the edge as she waited for Naruto to finish. She couldn't deny her attachment to the blond, her biggest supporter, and at times, her only believer.

They had been through a lot together. They had learned, cried, fought, laughed, suffered…and they understood each other so thoroughly that they made an unmatchable pair. They accomplished missions and triumphed on the battlefield without having to verbally plan out their moves. Naruto had stuck with her through thick and thin, and she had stuck with him. And no matter what obstacles stood in their way, they would always manage to claw their way to the top.

Granted, Naruto didn't know of her involvement with the interrogation team, he always seemed to know when she was upset, and somehow managed to find her and get her out of her brief lapses into depression. She had once mentioned his uncanny ability to find her when she was feeling at her worst, and he had jokingly called it an innate sixth Sakura sense.

Every now and again, Sakura's guilt would catch up to her and she'd think about confessing to Naruto about Sasuke, but she knew Naruto too well. She knew exactly how he'd react, exactly what he'd do…and she knew exactly how she'd respond.

Naruto would fume at first, and demand that they rescue Sasuke. She'd immediately list all the cons to this idea and try to dissuade him, but Naruto was still convinced that the 'good' Sasuke was still there, and that he could save him.

What a naïve thought.

But, in the end though, Sakura was not loyal to her village, she was loyal to her important people…she was loyal to Naruto. As a child, she had believed that she was loyal to the village, but time had taught her, that it wasn't the village that drove her to fight and defend. It was the people within the village, and the bonds that had developed over her lifetime.

Thus, she would aid Naruto in whatever he chose to do, which would, in all likeliness, be saving Sasuke. Which would only result in both of them becoming missing nins while setting Sasuke free.

They may escape Konoha with the Uchiha, but Sakura knew better, she knew that Sasuke wasn't the same. And she didn't want Naruto to know that, didn't want his hope stolen by reality…and, perhaps, she didn't want to confirm that she was right either.

In the end, she kept her mouth shut and forced a small smile that Naruto knew was fake. But neither mentioned it, because both knew that they each had their own secrets due to the nature of their job. The nature of shinobi. They each had their own demons, and regrets, and their support of one another was purely accepting that both had done deeds they weren't proud of, and that their guilt would never go away.

"Let's go train, Sakura-chan. We haven't sparred in ages, ne?"

Sakura looked over to the blond as she blinked away her musings. He seemed to be pleading with her, his eyes held some sort of sadness and Sakura wasn't sure where it originated from. He was upset, he seemed frustrated.

"We sparred a few days ago, don't be so dramatic. But, if you want me to beat you into the ground again, I'll gladly pummel you," Sakura responded, a light smirk pulling at the corner of her mouth.

Naruto readily leapt up to the challenge.

"I let you win last time Saku-chan! But, I won't go easy on you this time!"

Sakura smiled happily at the banter and was pleased that their antics still carried on. It was a sense of normalcy that she clung to, a sense of rightness that she hoped desperately never changed.

"Keep telling yourself that. Race you to the training grounds slowpoke," Sakura taunted good naturedly before dropping a few yen on the counter to cover her ramen and taking to the roofs, determined to beat Naruto there.

"Dammit Sakura-chan! That's cheating! You have to say 'go' before you take off!" Naruto shouted after her, digging in his pockets to drop his own due on the counter before dashing off in pursuit of his teammate.

The truth of their lives and what their career entailed was nothing short of reviling to an outsider, and, perhaps, even shinobi would look back on past missions and shudder at the sins committed in the name of the village, in the name of peace. Looking at their missions, from a military standpoint, their success was for the greater good of their people. But, looking at it from a civilian standpoint, a humanitarian standpoint, what they committed was nothing short of despicable. But, shinobi were taught to obey their Kage, to obey their superiors. They were soldiers, _pawns_…_tools_ used to reach various achievements, and they had no say in what was and wasn't committed. It was a difficult concept to grasp, a necessary skill to acquire, and one that Sakura was seriously starting to question.

Sakura refused to accept the truth of the shinobi world. She didn't want to face the truth that their lives were inconsequential, that their leaders had them commit acts, _sins_, that any other _human_ would be disgusted by, for some greater populace.

How much would the civilians enjoy the peace that shinobi forged with blood and sacrifice? Would they praise shinobi for their efforts, or condemn them for their methods? Then again, maybe, the truth was something that shouldn't always be uncovered.

And Sakura was confident that accepting such a truth would only result in the loss of her happiness. Naruto would never understand such a fact. In his heart, he was too honest and loyal. Even his work in ANBU hadn't taught him this darker side to humanity. And even if Naruto didn't realize this and kept searching for the justification for their missions, she'd protect his happiness too. She'd help lead him into the delusion that what they did was for the greater good…because Naruto's light couldn't dim. She was already losing hope in her village, she'd lose whatever remained if Naruto came to this conclusion too.

**xXxXxXx**

Sakura easily caught Naruto's leg and deflected the offending appendage before ducking under Naruto's left arm. She quickly dropped to the ground and attempted to sweep the blonde's legs out, but Naruto anticipated the move and backflipped several meters away before charging towards her again.

Sakura neatly ducked to the left, away from Naruto's first wayward swing before delivering a swift elbow on the back of the man's head. The combined force of Sakura's hit with Naruto's momentum sent the blonde towards the ground. Naruto's reflexes allowed him to tuck into a tight ball before hitting the ground, allowing his body to move with the force as he rolled on his shoulders across the forest floor before using the momentum to roll back to his feet. His feet slid back several feet as he slowed himself to a stop, his body crouched over and one hand on the ground to maintain his balance.

A smirk touched his lips as he charged forward.

Sakura stood her ground and let the blonde come to her. She knew that look. That was the look commonly sported by the blonde after he had successfully laid a trap that he felt confident would trick his challenger. And so, she stood calmly…watching, waiting for Naruto to spring his trap.

A second before Naruto reached her, his image disappeared, as did his chakra signature.

But Sakura was way ahead. She knew this trick, he'd gotten her before with it, but she'd had plenty of time to think of a counter. Without a second thought, Sakura took to the trees, standing on a lower hanging branch while her hands flashed through several seals.

"Demon Wind," she whispered, holding the last seal.

A heavy wind gusted suddenly from her body towards the ground. A pained yelp met her ears a few seconds later as Naruto's shredded body broke through the surface of the earth. As soon as his eyes met hers, his hand flew to his mouth, before he sighed loudly and plopped on the ground.

"Dammit, you got me again Sakura-chan," Naruto complained.

They had long ago changed the rules for their spars. It used to be the first to draw blood, but they did that with increasing frequency that their spars only lasted a few minutes at best. Furthermore, it was common knowledge that shinobi would sacrifice flesh wounds to win a fight, so why should their battle end there? Thus, the first to make a sound, outside of their usual banter, lost. It had become a sort of sick game of who could take more abuse, but every now and again a surprise attack would suffice.

"Its new. I got it from some rogue I ran into a few weeks back," Sakura explained as she made her way to her friend to seal up the cuts. "Air is all around us, as well as underground. It's an attack that can go through any porous surface. The only issue is that it doesn't deal enough damage."

Sakura lightly poked the cuts on Naruto's skin.

"It's only a flesh wound. Not enough to actually take down an enemy," Sakura mumbled, slightly irritated that she hadn't perfected it yet. "But when I'm done with it, it'll be hell to be on the other end of it."

"Saku-chan, don't poke it! Heal it! Even if it's shallow it still stings!"

Sakura smiled at his antics. This was the normalcy that she strived to protect and keep. Naruto had suffered enough, this was the least she could do for him.

"You shouldn't use the same move twice. You should know better by now baka."

"I wasn't gonna use the same move, you just didn't let me finish it!"

"The enemy isn't going to let you finish it either," she teased as her hand emitted a pale green glow, erasing the scrapes that littered Naruto's body.

"Oi! The enemy won't have seen it the first time eith-"

Both of them fell silent as they felt the approach of another nin. Sakura recognized the shinobi, but she knew that Naruto wouldn't. It was one of the trainees from the interrogation unit.

A few seconds later, the nin appeared on the training grounds. His bright red hair was cropped close to his head, and he wore the traditional seal on his jounin vest to distinguish him as an interrogator in training.

Without preamble, the jounin looked straight at Sakura, sparing Naruto only the most cursory of glances.

"Ibiki-sensei requires your presence."

"I'm sure he does. Is it critical?"

The man hesitated, throwing an uncertain glance towards the blonde before returning his stare to Sakura, maintaining his silence. The look was meaningful, and Sakura felt her ire rise at this foolish shinobi's audacity. She wouldn't have asked for clarification in front of Naruto if she had thought the answer to be classified.

"Answer the question," Sakura demanded harshly.

She didn't want to go back to the underground chambers and she sure as hell didn't want to go see Sasuke again. Besides, she had been enjoying her time with Naruto, she wasn't ready to cut that short yet. If this could wait, then she'd let the damned Uchiha suffer until she _felt_ like going to heal him.

"Hai! Ibiki-sensei said that he 'got carried away' and required you immediately."

Sakura pinned the jounin with a heavy glare to make him squirm for ruining her day. She was well aware that it wasn't his fault, but it made her feel a little better to take it out on someone since Ibiki wouldn't be quite so intimidated. Finally, she dropped her stare and let out a slow, heavy sigh before turning to face Naruto.

"You're all healed, so don't cause any sort of trouble. I have to go help Ibiki-san. Care to meet me for dinner tonight?" Sakura asked the blond casually.

Naruto gave her a big grin.

"I'm not a genin anymore, I won't get caught."

"I didn't say don't get caught, I said don't do it," she quipped.

Naruto laughed lightly.

"Hai, Sakura-chan. I'll behave, but I'm meeting Hinata-chan for dinner. Do you mind if I take a raincheck?"

Sakura smiled. She was happy that he had Hinata. She could always be there for Naruto when Sakura couldn't…and Naruto deserved every bit of happiness, even if it left Sakura feeling a little lonely.

"Have fun then! And next time we eat together, you're treating me since I won!"

Sakura winked at the blonde before completing a few hand signs and teleporting away, all before Naruto had a chance to argue.

Naruto shook his head, before turning to look at the jounin's retreating back. Naruto had heard rumors that Sakura was working with the interrogation unit, and he had even suspected it himself, but he didn't have any evidence of that until now. He had wanted to ask, but they had maintained an unspoken agreement not to talk about work or ask for any information that wasn't freely given.

Naruto shook his head slowly before stuffing his hands in his pockets and turning to walk back to the village. It was still early, perhaps he could taunt Sai into sparring with him.

**xXxXxXx**

**Yay! I think that it turned out pretty well, though the middle sounded a little awkward to me. I have an idea of where I want this story to go, but the details aren't completely hammered out, so don't get too mad if it takes me a while to update. Don't forget to review, even a couple words would make me super happy! Have a fun day!**

**~AWtH~**

**P.S. Sorry about the lack of page breaks in the first chapter! There were some on the original document, but evidently those go away after you upload it **** But hopefully, the ones in this chapter show up! Ja ne**


	3. The Price of Ignorance

_This is the price that we pay for living with our eyes closed_

_And backs against the wall _

_At the top of the hill_

_Where the powerful thrive_

_There's a strong disregard for this human life_

_When the winds start to change and the meek crowd the floor_

_And the sirens will sound and at last they will scream_

_No more! _

_At last they will scream no more!…_

_So welcome to our new war!_

_~Story of the Year "Welcome to our New War"_

Chapter 3

The Price of Ignorance

"Ibiki-san, this is getting tiresome. If you haven't gotten anything from him yet, you probably aren't going to, no matter how long you persist."

Sakura was annoyed beyond reason. She had been dragged from her best friend to tend to a traitor, and Ibiki had put the missing nin on the fast track to hell. Sakura wasn't even sure she could save the bastard initially.

"He'll crack. They always do, and with you around, I can be more convincing with my methods."

"I'm not your personal medic that willingly cleans up your messes. I was asked to keep him alive, that's the only reason I'm here. Don't think to abuse Tsunade-shishou's orders. Leave him alone tonight; his body can't take much more. There is some damage that only time can heal. The tissue is all new, so it's too raw to handle whatever you're planning next. I'll check him tomorrow morning; you won't be able to talk with him again until tomorrow afternoon, at the earliest."

"No. We continue immediately. You're going to wake him up and stay here to heal the damage when I tell you to."

Sakura glared at the older man. She was well aware that Sasuke's condition was beneficial to the interrogation, but the medic part of her rebelled at the injuries she had healed. What Ibiki had done was unspeakable and nothing short of grotesque. Even her hate for the Uchiha didn't help her validate Sasuke's pain.

This was the _too far_ that Sakura had feared. Medics had rarely been used in conjunction with interrogators for several reasons. One was the lack of medics that had shinobi training, thus preventing them from dealing with this sort of situation. The other being that medics were naturally appalled at such treatment.

Since Sakura was a shinobi before a medic, she had often used her medical jutsu to take down enemies. But her methods were usually instantaneous, and the enemy was usually dead before they even realized she was nearby. However, Ibiki's methods tore at her very core. Medical jutsu was not created to prolong someone's suffering. It was meant to end it, either by healing the injury or killing the individual.

"Ibiki-san, I refuse to participate any further in this. He has nothing to divulge."

"He's a shinobi. Shinobi always have something to say. You don't have a say in the matter. Wake him and remain on stand-by."

Sakura gritted her teeth together. The fact remained that Ibiki was her superior. And that fact meant that she was forced to do his bidding…like some damn dog.

Without another word, Sakura made her way to the limp body hanging from the manacles on his wrist. Sasuke looked like he had been to hell and back again, and with Ibiki as an interrogator, Sakura thought that perhaps Sasuke had found hell. Dried blood matted in his dark hair, and the cracked, brown rivulets were a stark stain on his pale skin.

Her hand lightly brushed his temple and glowed a soft green for a few seconds before Sasuke snapped back to consciousness. His body taunt, ready to take action, but as soon as his dark orbs flew open, his predicament came crashing back on him. Sakura could literally see the defeated air about him. His body relaxed against the cold steel that constantly sapped his chakra and his eyes slowly roved over the occupants.

Sakura let her hand fall back to her side and took a step away from the Uchiha. She knew he wouldn't last another interrogation with Ibiki. And he was fully aware of this fact too.

"Sa-kura?" His hoarse voice whispered.

"Hai," she responded blandly.

A few coughs raked his form as he attempted to clear his throat. Sakura waited patiently, offering no relief.

"Why-do you hate me?"

She knew what he was going to ask before the words left his lips. It was the same question he had been asking her every day since ANBU dragged his ass down here a month ago. She had yet to answer him. She wasn't sure if it was because she feared losing her temper and killing him in her rage, or if she feared him justifying all of his wrongs. Because a small part of her heart (a very, very small part she assured herself mentally), still hoped that _her_ Sasuke was still in there somewhere, even if her mind told her that he was gone.

Ibiki stared at the pair. The Uchiha hadn't spoken a single word to him in all this time, yet the second he saw the kunoichi, he talked. What an infuriating finding.

"Does he speak to you often?" Ibiki demanded of the pinkette.

Sakura leveled the interrogator with an annoyed glare and began cursing Sasuke in her mind for not keeping his damn mouth shut.

"Hai. That's usually all he says. But I've gotten a 'go to hell' out of him a few times when he first arrived."

Ibiki grunted his acknowledgement before staring back at the prisoner. He knew he hadn't gotten anywhere in the last month, and the chances of him making a breakthrough tonight were slim, especially considering that the Uchiha hadn't even graced him with a single insult.

"Haruno."

Sakura stared at Ibiki with an air of uncertainty. She could literally see his mind working up several different scenarios and figuring out the likelihood of each resulting in success. Ibiki wasn't in charge of the interrogation unit merely due to his ability to inflict unimaginable torment on others. Ibiki was, by any standard, a genius of psychology and knew how most people's minds worked. How their thinking process led them to certain decisions. But most importantly, Ibiki knew how to use this information to further his own gains and successfully acquire information from the greater majority of captured enemies.

"Answer his question."

Yep. She knew she wouldn't like his plan.

**xXxXxXx**

Tsunade rubbed her temples in a vain attempt to fend off the oncoming headache. She should have known that it was only a matter of time before Naruto would come nag her for a mission.

"Baa-chan! Sakura-chan and I have been stuck here too long! Give us another mission already!"

Tsunade could feel her temper simmering at the nickname. She didn't want to hear that name aimed at her right now.

"Sakura is doing work in the village right now. I can't send you both out together. Now get out before I sentence you to genin work."

Tsunade knew Naruto's intentions were good. Hell, she knew that Sakura's mood was what had motivated him to come bother her. But that didn't change the facts. Sakura's duty now was important, despite the tax it had on her protégé's mentality.

"I know she's working right now, why else would I want an easy mission? She needs to get away from whatever _you_ have her doing for a few days."

The insinuation was obvious. Naruto had always been protective of his teammates, and Sakura's haggardness must be too much for him to deal with. Come to think of it, Tsunade hadn't seen Sakura much lately either. Maybe this assignment was too much for her.

Unfortunately, Tsunade didn't have that sort of consideration to spare. Sakura was the only shinobi under her qualified to complete this assignment. As Hokage, she had to place the village's safety over anything else…including Sakura's emotions and mindset.

"Sakura's assignment is too important to postpone. She'll be fine."

At least, that's what Tsunade kept trying to convince herself. But, her years of mentoring Sakura alerted her to Sakura's change in temperament. Sakura wasn't the same little girl anymore, and a small warning bell was slowly starting to ring in the back of Tsunade's mind.

**xXxXxXx**

"I refuse."

It was blatant disobedience. It was insubordination. It was exactly what they were trained _not_ to do. It was borderline traitorous.

And it felt good.

"That isn't an option," Ibiki responded, narrowing his eyes.

Sakura didn't answer. There was nothing to say. She was disobeying a direct order, and she was confident that a punishment would ensue if she didn't comply soon. Ibiki wasn't exactly known for his patience with insubordination.

"You're overstepping your bounds Haruno. Answer his question."

Sakura turned to look dispassionately at Sasuke.

The Uchiha looked unsure of the situation. His eyes had been darting back and forth between the two shinobi, but once he noticed Sakura's gaze, his own charcoal eyes stared back at her. The dried flecks of blood on his face marred his visage. She kept trying to remind herself that the man before her was Sasuke, not some victim of an oversized bully. But she failed at it. And all at once, she knew what she wanted to do.

"Uchiha, I hate you for many reasons," Sakura began slowly; she could practically feel Ibiki's smugness rolling off of him in waves.

At first, Sasuke seemed to be at a loss. Granted, he hadn't been around the pink haired kunoichi much in the last six or so years, but the Sakura he knew wouldn't have changed her mind that quickly. And if she had given into someone else's demands against her wish, she certainly wouldn't look so calm and controlled about it. He licked his lips. She was planning something, and he wasn't sure it would work in his favor, but he'd play along since he didn't have much of a choice.

"Such as?"

His voice was hoarse, and the words immediately sent him into a coughing fit. Neither occupant moved to bring him water.

"We'll settle with the fact that you're an ass. Now, tell me, do you like it here?"

Sakura's tone didn't reflect any emotion, anger or otherwise. But Sasuke felt trepidation race down his spine at her question. What the hell sort of person would ask a prisoner that?

"It's not at the top of my list," Sasuke replied hesitantly.

"That was a 'yes' or 'no' question Uchiha, answer accordingly," Sakura admonished immediately, her voice louder and tone sterner than before.

"Haruno, this isn't relevant," Ibiki responded harshly, stepping between the ex-teammates, effectively cutting off their eye contact.

"You didn't ask me to figure out anything relevant. You told me to answer his question, I followed your order," Sakura answered, the defiance coloring her tone even as her face remained impassive.

"You're to come with me for a briefing," Ibiki ordered curtly.

"I'm sure that you'd like me to. May I have a few more words with the Uchiha first?"

Ibiki stared at her. She hadn't asked for anything extravagant, but she never said that she was coming with him either.

"Hai. Be in my office in two minutes," he relented after a short hesitation.

"Arigato Ibiki-san," Sakura answered as Ibiki stepped to the side and began walking towards the cell's door.

Sakura waited until Ibiki had left before her eyes met Sasuke's again. A deafening silence fell over them for a few seconds until Sakura heaved a heavy sigh.

"Even as a prisoner you're a pain in my ass Uchiha."

Sasuke held his tongue, unsure of this new development. His question had been more of a grasp at conversation and normalcy than an actual desire to hear the answer. He wouldn't deny that he was curious what _all _Sakura held against him, but he could list several things off the top of his head of why she should hate him. Somewhere between insulting her every day when they were on a team and trying to kill both her and Naruto seemed as good as any place to start.

"You're not going to escape this prison," Sakura began slowly, her voice so low that Sasuke had to nearly strain to hear her. "And the only way you're going to leave is in a body bag. Do you understand that?"

Sasuke stared at her. He wasn't afraid of dying. Hell, you don't become a shinobi if you do, but he still didn't welcome the concept either. He had a lot he still wanted to do before his time was up.

"Where are you-"

A violent bout of coughs shook his frame, preventing him from finishing his question.

A scowl twisted Sakura's features into a look of disgust as her hand reached out to him. Her palm rested lightly on his chest and her chakra flared up on contact, soothing away the scratchy throat and healing the damaged tissue in his lungs while numbing away the pain. He had acquired some sort of infection, which, considering the environment, was unsurprising. In fact, Sakura found it amazing that he hadn't gotten sick sooner.

A soft sigh left his lips at the soothing chakra. Sakura wasn't even sure he realized he'd made the noise. As soon as the fit subsided, Sakura took a few steps back and wiped her hand off on the rag at her waist.

Sasuke stared at her for a few seconds before continuing.

"Where are you going with this? I know the circumstances," he answered, some of his old cockiness coloring his words.

Sakura rolled her eyes. What a foolish man…did he actually think he could escape? She had only temporarily blocked some nerve endings; he'd feel even shittier when her chakra wore off.

"I'll only offer this once, so make up your mind quickly. I'm not going to allow you to escape; you've caused enough problems for Naruto and I, as well as the rest of the village. But, I'll offer you a different escape, do you want it or not?"

Sasuke froze. Was she insinuating what he thought she was? Was she really offering to kill him? He blinked several times before meeting her resolute gaze. Yes, she was offering to end his suffering, to prevent any of his secrets from leaking…part of him was exhilarated that he had a sure proof way of preventing Ibiki from making any headway in his interrogation. The other part was disgusted that he was actually considering this.

Shinobi die. It was a fact. But how many shinobi choose to die without a fight? It went against his pride and honor, against his way of the ninja.

"You'd be branded a traitor and become a missing nin," he responded, attempting stall for time.

"Not if I do it right, and even if I was, it's only a matter of time. I'm starting to hate the politics of this village, I was just planning on asking Tsunade-shishou for a visa and becoming a wanderer, but it wouldn't be too horrible if I left as a rogue nin. Besides, adding your death to my list of hits would be ironic, the weakest link of Team 7 killed the strongest…how twisted can you get? But I didn't stay behind in this cell with you to discuss my future loyalty. Choose."

Sasuke stared at Sakura for a few seconds before coming to a decision. With a small movement of his head, he delivered his answer, and Sakura let out a heavy sigh.

"Very well Uchiha."

**xXxXxXx**

_**I know its short, my apologies. Work has been hectic lately; we are understaffed, so they've been working me OT (which is great for my bank account and horrible for my personal life). In any case, hope you enjoyed it. Oh, and I'll be in Florida next week, so I'm not sure if I'll have access to a computer to upload a chapter or not, so don't hate on me too much! Hope you have a great day! Until next time, ja ne!**_

_**~AWtH~**_

_**P.S. Itachi finally makes his appearance next chapter, so don't complain about it. I've never written a story, but I don't want to rush it along too much. Don't forget to leave me a review, oh, and any pointers would be awesome. I'd love to become a better writer!**_


	4. The Culmination of Foolish Pride

_In reality, there is perhaps no one of our natural Passions so hard to subdue as Pride. _

_Disguise it, struggle with it, beat it down, stifle it, mortify it as much as one pleases, _

_it is still alive, and will every now and then peep out and show itself. _

_For even if I could conceive that I had completely overcome it, _

_I should probably be proud of my Humility._

_~Benjamin Franklin_

Chapter 4

The Culmination of Foolish Pride

Foolish.

That was the only thought that ran through her head. She'd offered Sasuke a chance to escape his suffering, to keep his secrets…and he had refused.

Granted, there was nothing remotely honorable about dying in some prison like a worthless rat. But, for a shinobi, to die without divulging anything under such circumstances, it's one of the best options to take. Nobody would have known she'd had anything to do with it. It merely would have looked like a misjudgment on Ibiki's part, which would have been made glaringly obvious by the fact that he was ignoring her advisement to give the Uchiha a break tonight.

Sakura walked briskly through the dimly lit corridor. The flickering torches made indistinguishable shadows dance across the walls. The cold, stale air filling her lungs as she became further irritated at the position that the damn Uchiha had stuck her with.

Now, she was going to be forced to participate in whatever sick game Ibiki had devised. She didn't have to hear it to know that she wasn't going to like it. She'd never cared for this particular part of her career. No doubt, she'd performed her own share of interrogations, and she actually wasn't half bad at them, but that doesn't mean that she _ever_ enjoyed the task.

But then again, since Sasuke refused, did that mean that he had his own plan? She had offered him an unbelievable opportunity and it was nothing short of ludicrous for him to merely waste it. But Sakura knew that despite his shortsightedness, Sasuke was an accomplished shinobi. He knew his odds of escaping, his odds of surviving. So, that must have meant that he knew something that she didn't…now wasn't that an infuriating idea?

**xXxXxXx**

"You're gonna be the one talking to him now, Haruno."

Of course he'd say that. What else could she have expected him to ask of her? He hadn't gotten a single word out of the Uchiha and then she waltzes in there and he starts singing like a bird. That had to hurt his pride as an interrogator. Yep, this was nothing short of annoying.

"I've been talking to him Ibiki-san."

"Not my kind of talking. I'm going to give you a headset and you're going to say exactly what I tell you to say Haruno."

Sakura's eyes narrowed marginally on the older nin. She hadn't been in the small cramped room for a minute and he was already insulting her ability to extract information.

Claustrophobia had already made her edgy. Being underground in a room the size of a large broom closet has the ability to do that to you. The walls were dark due to the moisture and covered in a spider-web of cracks. The dampness lent the atmosphere a musty stench that seeped deep into your clothes and clung desperately to your body, something that only steaming hot water and a lot of scrubbing could make go away. The room appeared even smaller due to the single ominously flickering light hanging in the middle from a heavy chain.

Not to mention that she wasn't exactly in the best of company. Ibiki's comments were infuriating her and slowly pushing her over the edge. Needless to say, she wasn't in the greatest of moods and definitely not in the mood to hear her skills belittled by anybody, whether it was her superior or not.

"I've carried out numerous interrogations. You're assistance is unnecessary," she bit out coldly.

If Ibiki was irritated with her defiance, he didn't show it. In fact, the cruel twist of his face into some sick parody of a smile greatly disturbed her.

"You haven't done one like this before."

"So, you want me to become a puppet?"

"Call it what you want, I'm in charge of this division and you'll abide by my orders."

"Of course, especially since your methods have been working so well on him, we should definitely keep using them."

Ibiki's smirk immediately dissipated into a scowl as he glowered at her. He was clearly displeased with being undermined by one of the shinobi under him, namely her. Sakura's green eyes began to glint, challenging the older man's authority.

"You think you can do better?" he asked dangerously, an underlying threat laced his words, daring her to oppose him.

She dared.

"Well, I can't do much worse."

Sakura's body tensed as she saw Ibiki's muscles begin to coil. The telltale signs that he was about to attack her were unmistakable.

Dammit it all! She was already under close scrutiny for opposing her superior last month. No way she could get away with it twice in such a short time span, even if Tsunade was the one in charge.

Sakura was forced to hold her body still as Ibiki's arm shot out, his upper forearm pressing against her throat, pushing her back a couple feet until her body collided with the concrete, pinning her against the stone wall in his small office.

Sakura had to mentally remind herself that she couldn't physically oppose her superiors. It was a stupid rule if you asked her, but she didn't make the rules, and she wasn't ready to break away from them yet either, she still had a few more things left to do before she would take her leave.

Sakura's hands fisted into the material of her skirt as she tried to keep her shinobi instincts from taking over. She desperately wished to pummel him. Her eyes bore into Ibiki's, never once letting up on their staring contest. The thought that a staring contest was the epitome of pathetic crossed her mind, but she ignored the thought as quick as it formed in her head.

The lack of oxygen was slowly starting to affect her. Sakura dug the heels of her palm into her legs as she tried to fend off the encroaching unconsciousness trying to claim her. Black spots slowly started to creep in on her peripheral vision, still she kept her arms firmly down at her sides and her eyes locked with his.

A disgusted look appeared on Ibiki's face before he pulled his arm back to his side and stepped away from the pink haired kunoichi.

Sakura took a deep gulp of air into her lungs, expanding her chest as far as she could as one of her arms reached out to steady herself against the wall, her eyes never leaving Ibiki's face as she attempted to regain control of her breathing.

"If I ever want your opinion, I'll ask for it. Is that clear Haruno?"

Sakura's eyes glinted in the low light, her anger nearly tangible in the pathetic excuse for a room. But she felt her head nod nearly imperceptibly despite her desire to rebel.

"Good, then you'll be here first thing tomorrow morning to start interrogating the Uchiha under my supervision. You're dismissed."

Sakura turned stiffly, not even bothering to acknowledge the orders.

"Haruno."

His voice sounded out through the silence, penetrating the tension and causing Sakura to pause in the doorway.

"I won't humor your sarcasm. The last shinobi that questioned my authority turned out to be a traitor."

Sakura half turned so she could see the older nin out of the corner of her eye.

"Are you questioning my loyalty Ibiki-san?" Sakura asked, her voice devoid of her previous sarcasm.

"Merely stating an observation…don't follow in his footsteps."

Sakura decided silence was the only safe answer. She walked through the door and allowed it to fall shut with a distinct 'click' before making her way back to the surface. She wasn't sure who Ibiki was talking about, but she personally, couldn't have cared less.

**xXxXxXx**

Kakashi had been called many things in the past, lazy being the most common. He wouldn't even deny such a trait. He embraced it thoroughly.

But, he was undeniably devoted to his village, to his home and to his Kage. His unwavering loyalty had landed him several covert and…delicate missions that if revealed could shake the foundations of his beloved Konoha.

So, when Tsunade had called him into her office and asked him to watch a certain shinobi and ensure their loyalty, he didn't mind at all. In fact, he was glad to have such a laid back mission at home that didn't require much work. Simple surveillance and a light questioning would suffice.

But another trait that Kakashi had was an unshakeable faith in his students. When Kakashi was told the identity of the suspected shinobi, he was immediately set on edge. One of his students had already turned traitor, if another one's allegiance was being questioned was that a reflection on his inability to take on a group of genins? Did he do something wrong?

And it was Sakura. _Sakura_! The slightly violent, short-tempered mother hen of their team that always offered a helping hand and a scolding for their carelessness. How could _anyone_ question her loyalty?

Tsunade had immediately added that it was just a precaution and was most likely due to stress, but going against authority twice in a month was very uncharacteristic for her, and such behavior required investigating. She'd also been quick to add that any personal feelings he had should be discarded and she was to be evaluated and treated as any other shinobi.

Like that was possible. And so, that was how he found himself, leaning casually against a tree, waiting for Sakura to pass. He could feel her chakra signature moving steadily towards him.

And that was how Sakura found the silver-haired nin.

"Kaka-sensei? What are you doing out here?"

Kakashi mentally cringed at the endearment, but let it slide. He should be used to it by now.

"I was on my way home while pondering the mysteries of life when a ladder blocked my path. Since I couldn't walk under it, I had to take a detour and…"

"Never mind, I'm not gonna get a straight answer," Sakura smiled ruefully cutting him off while shaking her head at Kakashi's antics.

His single visible eye crinkled in amusement.

"Are you on your way home Sakura?"

"Hai, I've got an early day tomorrow, so I figured I'd hit the sack early."

Kakashi nodded his head.

"Well, I'd be rude if I didn't escort a lady home at night," he replied as he began walking down the street.

Sakura smiled lightly. Both of them knew she could take care of herself. Hell, she could probably best Kakashi. But she didn't raise a protest and fell into step beside her old team leader.

Kakashi felt assured by the normalcy of their interaction. They'd gone through this situation several times, and she still reacted the same way. She didn't seem to be harboring any latent anger towards the village, and she wasn't acting out of character.

Their Sakura was okay. She wasn't turning traitor. She was still _their _Sakura.

"Hey, Kaka-sensei, have you ever questioned an order? I mean, if you knew it was wrong, would you still do it?"

Kakashi tensed and a long drawn out pause followed, only broken by the light scuffing of their sandals on the cobblestone road.

"I've questioned orders in the past, but orders are orders," he finally replied.

Sakura only nodded duly in response.

"Is there something you wish to talk about?"

Shinobi weren't supposed to discuss missions or information, but the rule was mostly a technicality. Granted, most followed this rule, but many confided in another. All shinobi reached a crossroads at some point where they questioned their superiors. Sakura was naturally a vocal person, she was just looking for someone to validate that what she was doing was right. That's all it was.

At least, that's what Kakashi told himself.

**xXxXxXx**

Once again, Sakura found herself staring at the heavy slab of concrete separating her from the Uchiha.

Ibiki had just finished lecturing her like some genin fresh out of the academy. After the Interrogation 101 course, she had grudgingly dragged herself to _his_ cell with a small receiver in her ear while trying to get her irritation at the situation under control.

With a heavy sigh whilst resigning herself to the situation, she pushed the dead bolt out of the way and shoved the door open.

**Yeah, yeah, I know it's been a while. School started, and sadly, school takes precedence over this story. Stupid school and education is sucking my soul! In any case, please review and let me know what you think! If I don't hear back, I'm gonna have to assume it's not really well liked and I should stop. In any case, hope ya'll have a Merry Christmas and enjoyed the chapter **

**~AWtH~**


	5. The Battle Within One's Self

_You're keeping in step  
In the line  
Got your chin held high and you feel just fine  
Because you do what you're told  
But inside your heart it is black and it's hollow and it's cold_

_Just how deep do you believe?  
Will you bite the hand that feeds?  
Will you chew until it bleeds?  
Can you get up off your knees?  
Are you brave enough to see?  
Do you want to change it?_

_~Nine Inch Nails "The Hand that Feeds"_

Chapter 5

The Battle Within One's Self

The door grated reluctantly against the pressure Sakura applied, its protests echoing loudly off the walls of the small cell.

But she was used to such a sound. She heard it every day.

Sasuke still hung pitifully from his chains, but at least he was awake, his eyes glaring balefully towards her.

"_Greet the Uchiha, and be nice about it Haruno,_" Ibiki's raspy voice rung loudly in her ear and she nearly cringed at the order.

What the hell did he expect her to do first? Mentally rolling her eyes, Sakura stepped into the cell and pushed the door shut again.

"Hello Uchiha, did you sleep well last night?" Sakura bit off sarcastically.

Sasuke stared at her blankly.

"I'll take that as a yes," she added after a short pause.

"_Bring the cart near him so he can see it_."

With a sigh, Sakura went to the back corner of the room and rolled the cart of…persuasive tools next to the Uchiha.

"_Good. Ask him where Orochimaru's hide out is?_"

Sakura smirked at Ibiki's order.

"_Now, Haruno."_

"So, you've replaced Naruto and me, huh? You couldn't live without a hyperactive idiot and a swooning fan girl at your side."

"_Haruno! I didn't authorize such comments!"_

"I mean, I figured you'd eventually crave the attention and try to reform our team. But really? We were more useful than them. I'm sure you could have found much better replacements than that."

"_Haruno! You will do as you're told or I'll throw you in a cell next to him!"_

"I mean, if you still had us, we would have already busted you out by now, so where are your precious replacements? Have they abandoned you so quickly?"

Sasuke's body tensed. Sakura's smirk grew. This was more fun than she thought it would be. Pissing off two of her biggest annoyances at the same time, it just couldn't get any better than that.

"_Haruno, not another word out of you!"_

Sakura reached up and pulled the small earpiece out. She didn't even spare it a glance as she dropped it on the cold stone and crushed the device under her sandal.

"Beyond that, Naruto and I have grown by leaps and bounds since you left. I know you thought we were holding you back, but if you compare how much Naruto and I have grown to your own progress, I think you were actually holding us back."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. Just a little more.

"Actually, I think Naruto and I are more prepared to deal with Itachi. You'd only get in the way at this point. You're too weak. A hindrance. Its rather ironic actually, you wouldn't stand a chance against your brother, you're nothing compared to him. And yet, he let the weakest Uchiha alive to try and challenge his prowess, either he's a terrible judge of potential or the Uchiha clan is actually a group of weaklings," a dark chuckle slipped past Sakura's lips as her green orbs met Sasuke's heated glare. "Itachi must be more disappointed in you than Naruto or me."

It was then that the door scrapped the ground in protest as Ibiki forced it open and grabbed the kunoichi's arm.

"You're done here," Ibiki rasped as he pushed Sakura to her knees.

Sakura smirked.

"Bullshit! Itachi wouldn't even bother to deal with you two weaklings! Nobody can kill that bastard but me! I already killed a Sannin, you think Itachi can stop me?"

Sasuke's infuriated yell was followed by an all-encompassing silence. Ibiki remained frozen; his hands gripped Sakura's forearms harder, twisting them painfully behind her back.

Sakura looked back and forth from the breathless Sasuke to the seasoned interrogator. She could see him debating what to do next in his head. Protocol dictated that she be placed before the Hokage for not following his orders, but her method had gotten the results he so desperately craved.

The tension lasted for only a few seconds, but a few seconds means life and death in the dark world that shinobi operated in. And Ibiki went with protocol over results as he half-dragged Sakura from the cell.

Life or death…death it is then.

**xXxXxXx**

"What's your conclusion Kakashi?"

Tsunade waited expectantly for his report. She knew it was cruel to force Kakashi to determine his own student's loyalty, but Sakura was her student too. This was tough for both of them and Kakashi was the best at this sort of evaluation.

"You know her as well as I do Hokage-sama," he responded vaguely.

"Don't pull that bullshit on me Kakashi. I don't have the time or patience to deal with it. Now, answer the damn question."

Kakashi's shoulders visibly slumped as he looked off to the side at the pictures of the past Hokages on the wall. He had once told his students that those who abandon their mission are trash, but those who abandon their teammates are worse than trash. And he believed those words to his very core, and that was the only justification he could come up with for his reply.

"Haruno Sakura is loyal to Konoha."

He hadn't lied per say, she was loyal to Konoha, or at least she wasn't loyal to anyone else. But he knew that wasn't what Tsunade was asking. Tsunade wanted to know the chances Sakura would become a rogue…and those chances were really high at the moment if he didn't do something to change Sakura's outlook.

Tsunade let out a heavy sigh before letting a small smile tug the corners of her mouth up.

"Good work, you're dismissed."

Kakashi nodded to the Hokage before disappearing in a small puff of smoke to seek out Sakura. He needed to get through to her before she did something rash.

**xXxXxXx**

"Dammit Sakura! Why can't you do as you're told?"

Sakura stood impassively before the Hokage. And the Hokage was seething.

"He was wrong," she replied simply.

"You cocky little punk, I was making shinobi give up their darkest secrets before you could wipe your ass," Ibiki retorted under his breath, though both Tsunade and Sakura heard it clearly.

Sakura had to mentally commend him. His irritation was well-concealed for the most part, but the tension in his shoulders was unmistakable.

He didn't like to be questioned, and seeing Sakura get information in the matter of minutes had to have pissed him off. Her insubordination was just the icing on the cake.

"Perhaps, but that doesn't make you any more efficient," Sakura agreed.

"Both of you shut up," Tsunade interjected before Ibiki could respond.

She rested her elbows on her desk and interlaced her fingers and allowed her chin to rest lightly on her hands as she contemplated the situation. She was in a tough spot. She couldn't show any favoritism to her student, but the fact stood that Sakura was right in this situation. And yet, insubordination couldn't be tolerated on any level.

Beyond that, Kakashi had just assured her that Sakura was loyal and not acting out of character. Tsunade would admit that Kakashi had known Sakura longer, but Tsunade knew that this wasn't her student's usual behavior. Sakura was headstrong and temperamental, but Sakura had never taken orders so lightly. Tsunade was starting to question Kakashi's accuracy…or his honesty.

"Ibiki, you're dismissed. I'll deal with this."

Sakura could see the desire to protest in his eyes, but he merely nodded his head to acknowledge the order and turned on his heel to walk out the door.

Just like a damn dog.

As soon as the older nin was out of the door Sakura turned to her mentor.

"Shishou, he was wrong and refused to listen to reason. I merely took matters into my own hands," Sakura explained.

"Your reasoning doesn't change the fact that you have directly disobeyed a superior three times this month. If I didn't know you better I'd suspect your motives," Tsunade replied.

Sakura had nothing to say to that. She and Naruto argued against superiors often, but he had never gone against a direct order like she had, and certainly not three times in three weeks. And despite all her reason that said Tsunade had every right to suspect her of treason, a part of her rebelled at the very notion that _her_ shishou doubted her loyalty.

"I know shishou, but-"

"There is no 'but' Sakura. Insubordination is not an option for shinobi. You obey your Hokage first and any higher ranking shinobi after that. There is no grey area and no excuse for your behavior."

Tsunade's voice was final. Her tone brooked no argument.

And Sakura was disgusted at the words.

She was _not_ a mindless robot. She had thoughts and ideas of her own and they were just as valid. She absolutely refused to cow down to _anyone _due to rank or seniority.

"You are now on probation from field work," Tsunade began.

Sakura opened her mouth to protest, but before a word came out, Tsunade's glare silenced her as she continued.

"You will be taken off active duty until I feel you understand the importance of following orders. Is that clear?"

Sakura glared mutinously at the floor.

No, its not okay.

"Hai, Hokage-sama."

Her reply was hollow, without conviction. She understood the punishment, but she disagreed with Tsunade's choice. As a matter of fact, she disagreed with the entire system.

"Dismissed."

Sakura executed a cursory bow and exited the office. She walked stiffly down the stairs and out of the building. As soon as the door swung shut behind her Sakura vaulted off the ground to the roof of a local dango stand. With each stride she pushed herself faster and faster across the rooftops until she reached her apartment complex.

Without a second thought, Sakura tossed some spare clothes into her pack and loaded up all her weaponry. Within minutes she had taken back to the rooftops and moved swiftly towards the main gate.

She walked through the exit without incident. Her confinement had yet to be reported to the guards.

And so she left Konoha.

And she never looked back.

**xXxXxXx**

Admittedly, Sakura had initially enjoyed the life of a rogue. She was her own master. She traveled through various villages. She got to relax at a hot spring for an entire day without being interrupted for some medical emergency or another. And, best of all, there was nobody to please. No diplomatic bullshit that prevented her from telling off pig-headed clan heads. Hell, she even got to choose whatever side jobs she wanted to do to fill in any monetary deficit she had.

But the reality of being hunted had suddenly crashed on her.

She hadn't been in a spectacular village, hell, there were only a handful of shinobi, and even they were only chunins at most. It was a classic case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

A few ANBU from Konoha had been passing through the small town on the outskirts of the fire nation at the same time, and happened to spot her. Sakura felt their killing intent before any jutsu was unleashed. Despite her indifference to the small village, she wouldn't have these villager's blood on her hands due to a few bird-brained shinobi. These people didn't deserve to die in such a despicable manner, they weren't apart of the shinobi world and shouldn't have to suffer their ways.

Feigning ignorance, Sakura wandered out of the village, perusing some outdoor vendors so as not to raise the threesome's suspicions. As soon as she passed out of the village she had taken off, and the ANBU gave chase immediately.

She lured them deeper into the woods, several miles away from any people, before turning to face them. She was faster, but she didn't relish the idea of depleting so much chakra to lose them. It would be infinitely more efficient to simply take care of them. They were ANBU, but so was she. And despite being amongst the elites, they were at the bottom of the pyramid compared to what she had normally dealt with in ANBU. Besides, it'd be better to chose a site that fit her fighting style then risk one of them overtaking her in an area that she was at a disadvantage in.

A few minutes later, she stopped in a relatively flat clearing. It didn't take long before the nin assumed a triangular formation five or so yards in front of her. She'd set a few small traps in her sprint and she was slightly pleased to see the nin covered in several scrapes and burns from the small explosives. Not enough to kill them, but then again, she held no desire to kill Konoha nin, even if they intended to kill her.

"I have nothing against you. And I don't want to fight," Sakura enunciated slowly and clearly, trying to keep her movements slow and as unthreatening as possible.

"Haruno Sakura, you have been deemed a threat to the peace of Konoha and must be brought before the Hokage. Will you come quietly?"

Sakura wasn't sure which of the three said it, but at the moment, that wasn't her concern. One of the shinobi in front of her was a clone and the real one was circling behind her. The one with the hawk mask was the clone.

Sakura shifted to a wider stance.

"No."

Sakura darted towards the shinobi, her hand flashing out with a kunai. The weapon was embedded in the hawk's chest before the other two realized what had occurred. They immediately jumped off to the side as Sakura's chakra laden fist dug into the ground and the clone dispersed in a small cloud of smoke.

The earth groaned in protest as it shifted and erupted. Sakura flipped over the destruction and landed neatly on her feet, facing the direction she had just charged from. The shinobi that had created the clone, the hawk, was coming at her with a katana.

With a smirk, Sakura sprinted towards him as well, closing the distance between them in milliseconds. A kunai in one hand parried his blade, while a chakra scalpel in the other hand darted out to sever the flexor tendon in his wrist. The shinobi let out a shrill howl in pain, and Sakura took full advantage of his distraction. Her chakra enhanced elbow jerked back and slammed into the porcelain mask covering his face causing the shinobi to fall back a few feet on his back. Without pause, Sakura followed him to the ground and with a swipe of her hand; she severed his Achilles tendon with her scalpel. She had ensured that he couldn't unleash any jutsu or stand on his own two feet. He was neutralized.

And without a second glance to the shinobi writhing in pain next to her, she charged after the other two.

She felt them about a quarter mile away, moving fast…but not towards her, they were going towards Konoha. Sakura gave chase for a mile, but stopped once she was sure they weren't going to face her. Following them any further would be pointless. They were still in Fire Country. Konoha wasn't that far away, and the last thing she wanted was every available shinobi on her ass. Grudgingly, she turned back and headed to the clearing to look down on the only shinobi that was brave, or stupid, enough to actually face her.

In the end, they had abandoned their comrade. She thought they'd at least attempt to regroup to save their teammate, but the cowards had taken off without him. Admittedly, ANBU were trained to prioritize the mission's success while minimizing losses, and they must have realized that taking her on wouldn't accomplish either of those goals. It was what the ANBU manual instructed, but Kakashi's words rung loudly in her head. They were worse than trash.

With a sigh she looked over to the nin. His mask had shattered from her hit, and now lay in pieces on the ground. The nin wasn't anything special to look at. In fact, part of Sakura pitied the way the man had taken on a terrified look while cradling his right hand. No doubt he'd tried to move both limbs and found them unresponsive. For a shinobi, that alone was frightening. Shinobi depended on their ability to attack and defend in order to live…and she had taken that away.

"Your teammates abandoned you."

It was a simple fact, and yet, Sakura could see the dim hope left in his eyes diminish. He had already expected that, and yet he hoped they'd save him. He hoped that they'd throw away the rule book for him.

How weak.

Briefly Sakura wondered if he knew that her disregard for the rulebook was why he was chasing her. If he had been her teammate, she wouldn't have questioned her course of action. She would have gone back for him and damned the consequences.

How ironic.

"You brought this on yourself ANBU-san. Tell the Hokage that I will not hesitate to kill the next hunter that comes after me."

And Sakura turned her back on the nin and started walking away.

She hadn't gone four steps when she heard the unmistakable sound of a shuriken.

It was an automatic response. One so ingrained in her shinobi mindset that she didn't even stop to contemplate her actions. And so, she caught the weapon in her fingers and threw it back with deadly accuracy…and it sliced through the man's throat with a soft, nearly nonexistent sound.

A soft gurgle reached her ears as the man attempted to take in precious oxygen, but it was for naught. His body fell lifelessly to the ground, his head rolling a few inches away. Like one of those sick horror movies that Ino loved so much. Sakura could see the precious life-giving liquid soaking the ground around him.

It was undeniably repulsive, and yet, she watched in silence until his body quit twitching. Until the flow of his blood had subsided and the ground was fully saturated.

Mentally, Sakura applauded the shinobi for his drive and devotion to succeeding. But then she had to fault him for being so stupid. She had completely disabled him in the matter of seconds, and yet he_ still_ thought he stood a chance against her.

"Baka," she murmured softly under her breath.

She turned her back on the scene and took off at a sprint for the border.

She had officially murdered a shinobi from her homeland.

And she felt like she had betrayed everything she had ever stood for and believed in.

**Yay! Done with chapter 5! Probably won't get to update again til after Christmas, so Merry Christmas my peeps! And I'd like reviews as my Christmas present! Pretty pretty please! :P **

**~AWtH~**


	6. The Path that Borders Heaven and Hell

_We finally realized that what we'd been doing_

_all this time was searching for a place where we belonged._

_Not here, but somewhere._

_What is it that makes us feel so uncertain?_

_It's as if we are demons, born in the house of an angel…_

_or angels, brought up by demons._

_Are people born to defy their fate…?_

_~The Key to the Kingdom_

Chapter 6

The Path that Borders Heaven and Hell

If someone had told her that one day she would be a missing nin, Sakura would have most likely laughed at the insanity of such a comment.

And yet, she sat on a barren branch.

In the middle of Sound.

Alone.

Oh, and there were hunter nins vying to gain the _honor_ of bringing in her bounty (which involved delivering her head in a burlap sack, and she was rather pleased with her head's current location).

The death of the nameless Konoha nin apparently had all the shinobi in outrage. She had been labeled as a ruthless murderer. A sadistic psychopath. A blood-thirsty beast.

Sakura would admit that the scene would probably lead anybody to that conclusion. But she knew the darker side of the shinobi world. And though she admittedly left behind a rather a gruesome scene, it wasn't the worst.

Still, her face appeared on posters outside many major cities and her bounty in the Bingo Book had increased ten-fold. She had been elevated from a low priority rogue with village secrets to a cold blooded slaughtering A-class murderer within a week.

Oh joy.

After a few more minor run-ins, Sakura had begun keeping to smaller towns. And when she was forced to enter the larger cities, she kept to the more derelict part of town.

She had no absolute destination in mind. But she figured that Sound would be the least likely place they'd look for her. Besides, Sound was hostile to everyone, so she had just as much chance of surviving as the next guy. And though that sounded bleak, she was willing to take her chances.

On the plus side though, there was always work available in Sound. Whether it be information gathering or assassination, there was always missions aplenty. And at the moment, Sakura's empty money pouch and grumbling stomach demanded a mission…a high paying one at that.

Which left her waiting on a tree branch on the outskirts of a rundown city. A caravan should have passed through over an hour ago and she was supposed to be "relieving" the group of some precious gem. Apparently it was worth a lot, but mostly her employer had a spoiled brat of a daughter and the current owners of the gem refused to sell their family heirloom.

At least, that's what she had pieced together with her limited attention span for her current benefactor's longwinded speech.

She had picked this spot as being the perfect area. There was a bend that would cut off at least half of the traveling group's view of her, which would allow some confusion. Beyond that, it was perfectly in the middle of the two cities. The civilians would be stuck in between without any means for calling for back up. And despite the contractor's warning that shinobi were most likely hired to protect the jewel, Sakura fervently hoped they wouldn't have any hired hands…or they were at least a group of genins. She didn't want to give anyone a heads up on her location, and taking on a nin of any respectable rank was sure to do just that, whether she left them alive or dead, either their talking or her unique fighting style would rat her out.

With a heavy sigh, Sakura watched the sun set slowly behind the horizon splashing bright oranges and purples across the sky. It was quite picture-esque, and would have been perfect if not for her loudly protesting stomach which had begun adamantly demanding food in a continuous gurgle for the last ten or so minutes.

"Damn it all," she murmured under her breath as she dropped to the ground.

She wouldn't get paid until she brought that damn gem back and her stomach would give her away at this point. She had given in earlier and pocketed an apple from an ignorant vendor, but stealing from civilians bothered her (for reasons even she couldn't fathom). So she resolved to stick out the mission until she could pay for her food.

"Fine," she muttered. "If you won't come to me, I'll just go get you."

Thus, Sakura began walking in the direction of the caravan's supposed route, with every intention of intercepting them, grumbling all the while about incompetent civilians and their inability to travel faster.

**xXxXxXx**

Three or so miles down the road, Sakura finally spotted her target. They were moving slowly. And loudly.

They were celebrating. And drunk.

Sakura smiled.

She could just go snatch the gem and be done with the mission. In and out with none the wiser. But what fun was that? Besides, if she played her cards right, she could get a free meal.

And so, Sakura drew her hood to cover her hair and picked up her pace on the well worn road to meet the caravan head on.

She counted at least twenty men merrily shuffling down the road. Most of which were slurring the words to some upbeat song, but they seemed tipsy enough to play with in Sakura's mind.

"Ohayo," Sakura called out a few yards away.

Most of the men carried on with their tune. But two turned their eyes to the young rosette heading towards them. Both had on dark hoods, like herself, and one broke away at a brisk jog to meet her.

"Ohayo," a dark haired man returned as he came to a stop.

Sakura immediately categorized him as the leader of the ragtag group. He held all the bearing of a leader and kept his head high, and although Sakura could smell the alcohol on him, she could see the clarity in his eyes. He was still completely sober and coherent.

Another cloaked man – blonde – jogged up alongside the dark haired man. He was tall and bulky, and he had a slight glaze over his eyes which belied his tipsy state, but he still took solid, sure-footed steps. He watched her like a hawk, analyzing her every movement and was determining if she was a threat. It was the look of a person that had grown up in Sound and knew that looks were deceiving and that you can't grow up as an innocent little child. She found that she immediately liked the silent blonde. He was wary of her and viewed her as a potential threat. Smart man.

If Sakura lacked her shinobi training, she was sure that the blonde would be a force to be reckoned with. Of course, that wasn't the case, but that didn't mean she couldn't pretend it was.

"Gomensai Traveler-san," Sakura spoke quietly. She kept her head tilted down and eyes averted while her fingers were interwoven of her stomach and her thumbs fiddled in a nervous gesture.

The perfect image of a nervous, lost, helpless little girl.

Sakura ducked her head down further to hide her smirk (which the traveler took as just another sign of her nervousness) before taking a deep breath and ensuring the civilian's outlook of her.

"I-I'm not from here a-and I'm not sure which way Garso Village is and its-its getting dark and I was scared something m-might attack me and so I-"

"Easy there kid. You're safe," the dark haired man smiled lightly at Sakura as he cut her off in mid-rant. "We are on our way to Garso, so you can just stay with us for the trip."

Sakura looked up through her bangs at the man for a quick glance before letting a sheepish smile overtake her visage.

Hook, line and sinker.

"A-arigato Traveler-san," Sakura said quietly before bowing to the man to show her gratitude.

Alas, her civilian background has come to use.

"You can just call me Renji. What's your name miss?"

"I'm Utaki Kaoru. Thank you for your kindness Renji-san," Sakura answered without pause, adding a small smile for effect.

"So then, have you had dinner yet Kaoru-chan?"

And that was when Sakura's stomach gurgled her reply. Sakura's face took on an embarrassed blush as she bowed her head and murmured an apology, but her host merely started laughing at her.

"Let's get some chow in you Kaoru-chan," Renji beamed at her.

And Sakura happily nodded her head.

"Soji, take point," Renji added lightly to the quiet blonde.

Sakura looked over at the man, he nodded his head to acknowledge the orders, but his eyes never left Sakura.

By then, the rest of the group had reached him. Renji waved off the curious stares and joked good-naturedly about "rescuing a damsel in distress." Without pause or questioning of who she was or why she was going to Garso Village, the caravan continued and Renji fetched some left over rations for her.

**xXxXxXx**

Sakura kept her head down like any other sixteen year old civilian girl surrounded by strangers in the middle of nowhere would, but her senses were in overdrive. She didn't sense any shinobi amongst them, but then again, if she was guarding the group, she wouldn't let any rogues sense her either.

She had at one point asked Renji why so many people were traveling to Garso for, but he had only smiled and told her that they were foreigners hired to protect and deliver special merchandise.

Sakura had immediately worked up all the childish enthusiasm that she could muster and asked to see said merchandise. Renji went quiet for a second before throwing a glance back at the wooden wagon being pulled by a pair of dull brown horses.

Well, now she was sure of the jewel's location.

"You don't want to do that Kaoru-chan. There's a mean old shinobi over there that's a grouch and he's already said that we aren't working hard enough to protect it. He'd be very upset if I brought you over there to see it. Besides, that's no place for a young lady such as yourself."

So he wouldn't willingly take her.

Of course, that didn't mean she couldn't go by herself.

Sakura gave the man credit for playing it off so nicely, though she couldn't help but wander what he'd think if he found out she was a high level nin. But alas, ignorance is bliss and it was easier this way.

So, dutifully, Sakura smiled up at Renji and nodded her agreement that shinobi were scary.

Part of Sakura was curious as to who the nin was, but the other part was annoyed that she had to go through a shinobi at all. If the nin was a low enough level she could probably put them in a genjutsu before they realized she was near, but in a place like Sound, there were rogues like her that ran rampart.

How annoying.

Thus, a minute later, when Soji the Wary wasn't looking, she ran through several seals under her cloak and replaced herself with a clone.

She hid alongside for a minute to ensure neither male picked up on the switch, and once she was sure there was nothing on that end, she flash stepped to the wagon in the middle of the group, crossed her fingers that it was a weak nin and slipped into the rickety wagon with a kunai in hand.

**xXxXxXx**

**Yeah yeah, I know its short, but I've got several relatives over and haven't been able to get away much. I'll update as soon as I can and I promise it will be extra long and extra kick ass **** Don't forget to review! Happy New Years my peeps!**

**~AWtH~**


	7. The Most Dreadfully Unexpected Encounter

None of you seem to understand.

I'm not locked in here with you.

You're locked in here with _me._

~Rorschach from _The Watchmen_

Chapter 7

The Most Dreadfully Unexpected Encounter

Sakura would readily admit that she had some of the worst luck imaginable for any individual to carry. One that even rivaled her sensei's luck to be honest. Sakura would also admit to putting a lot to chance and hoping that her luck would work to her advantage.

And this led Sakura to the conclusion that she was completely, utterly and unequivocally stupid.

The wagon itself was a small four by six crate on wheels in which the back was open and the only thing separating the inside off from the rest of the world was the usage of a small cloth that had at one point in its sad life used to be white but was now dyed a dirty yellowish brown.

And once inside the slow moving and dimly lit wagon Sakura's eyes immediately found the gem she seeked.

Sadly, this gem was sitting in arm's reach of a shinobi.

And no, not just any shinobi. And certainly not some team of wet-behind-the-ears genin.

No, it was a shinobi that was notorious in Konoha, one that her mentors had told stories about to them when they were kids in the academy and gave them nightmares as children.

Sakura stayed in her half crouch, her kunai held in front of her, ready to deflect and lash out at a second's notice as she weighed her choices. She'd rather not start a fight. A battle between them would not be beneficial for either one of them. She didn't doubt her prowess, but exhausting her chakra to take down an S-class nin wasn't at the top of her to do list.

"Uchiha-san," Sakura stated simply, her eyes trained on his chin as she nodded her greeting.

Itachi had already been irritated at this entire mission. The contractor had hired several civilian rogues and said that _they_ were to carry the merchandise and he was to protect both them and the gem _if_ he was needed, as if he were some sort of extra baggage the contractor was forced to put on the pay roll.

Foolish man.

He could have delivered the object within a couple hours and been done with the assignment yesterday. But civilians had always been wary of shinobi, especially rogues, and though they recognized the superior abilities and necessity of having a nin on their side, they were never willing to fully trust one.

Which now left him with his newest dilemma.

He hadn't even sensed the girl until she had flashed stepped towards the cart, nearly a second before her body materialized in the wagon. That alone spoke for her ability as a well-trained and disciplined nin.

He had expected someone to make a grab at the jewel. But he was slightly taken aback at the sight of his younger brother's teammate. Most of her trademark pink hair was concealed under a hood, but a few rebellious strands hung in her face. She looked like she hadn't bathed in a while and angry, dark circles accentuated her green eyes which seemed to glow brightly in the darkness of the wagon, unlike the rest of her dulled and haggard body, and her cheeks looked more hollowed out then he remembered them being the first time they met.

He had heard she'd become a missing-nin. He'd even heard that she had turned into a blood-thirsty monster since her separation from Konoha. But he didn't expect that she'd appear so suddenly. And especially not in Sound of all places.

And what the hell was Kisame doing out there? How could the nin not know who this girl was and stop her before she made it to him and the gem?

His red eyes never left her as the tension rose and he subconsciously slipped a kunai into his palm to ready himself against her.

Sakura was slightly annoyed with his silence, but she had expected it, and there really wasn't much she could do about it in any case. Talking him into giving her the gem hadn't really been an option anyway.

The issue now, was that the gem she needed for money was only a foot away from him and nearly three feet away from her. She was fast, but that was a lot of distance to cover and retreat in, especially considering whom she was swiping it from.

So, a distraction would have to do the trick.

Sakura's hand went to the floor and she pushed her middle finger against her thumb to make a small ring, as if she was going to flick the wooden floor.

Itachi tensed at the action and he barely registered the small smirk that pulled a corner of her lips up just as her finger left its resting place on her thumb and connected with the floor.

He could audibly hear the thump of her finger on the wood, and an eerie silence followed a millisecond before the entire bottom erupted into hundreds of tiny splinters causing both of them to fall a meter or so to the hard ground.

Sakura felt the small spike in his chakra, signaling his slight lapse into bewilderment. Immediately, she reached forward between the chunks of wood she had shattered and grabbed the gem before it hit the ground. A few scrapes from the dismembered wagon drew a small trail of criss-crossing cuts on her, but she was rather pleased to have already attained the gem with so little effort.

Now she just had to escape.

She watched as Itachi landed lightly on his feet a couple meters away, before his Sharingan spun in irritation at the pink-haired kunoichi.

His surprise had only held his attention for a second before his gaze focused back on the kunoichi. But apparently that second was all the girl needed. When he saw the girl reach forward he had thought it was an attack, and he hadn't questioned the impulse to move away from such destructive hands. He had never taken the time to find out her strengths and techniques, but if she could destroy a cart like that with her finger he didn't want her hand anywhere near his person. But he'd misread her intention and she had already recovered the gem and it rested lightly between her index finger and middle finger.

Holding it up.

Taunting him and reminding him that she had grabbed what _he_ was supposed to be protecting.

Sakura's hand flashed across her body, sending the kunai in her other hand towards the Uchiha. On reflex, his own kunai came out and slashed at the airborne weapon to deflect it.

And then she just smiled.

"Sorry Uchiha-san, but a girl's gotta eat."

And she brought her hands together in a single seal before transporting away, leaving nothing but a soft cloud of smoke.

Soji stood behind Itachi and let out a soft whistle at the wreckage.

"That was sure as hell some act she pulled eh? I thought I recognized her," the blonde remarked.

Itachi refused to comment.

"So, should we go after her or just let her go?" the blonde continued, completely used to the raven-haired man's silence.

Itachi could still feel her signature, but it was a faint signal several miles away and moving fast in the opposite direction of their next destination.

"The pay is not consequential," Itachi answered after a brief consideration.

"Hehe, good, I was getting bored of this anyway," he answered as a cloud formed around him, releasing his henge. "Much better. I've always hated changing my appearance, especially to look like some pathetic civilian," he remarked with a toothy grin as he hefted his sword over his shoulder.

Itachi glanced at the slightly shocked caravan. The men had hardly moved since Sakura shattered their cart. He assumed most were alarmed to see a girl as "innocent" looking as the Haruno was turn out to be an actual shinobi. Many of them seemed even more uncertain to see the once silent and average looking (if not overly muscular) 'Soji' disappear into a towering eight foot nin with blue skin and gills. Not to mention the daunting appearance of the six foot Samehada that rested lightly on his shoulder as if it were no heavier than a feather.

"Well, we've already made our quota for the month, let's just head back to base," Kisame remarked as he began walking in the opposite direction.

Itachi nodded his head in agreement.

And then both men disappeared in a blur, leaving behind twenty-odd shocked men to report their failure and the loss of their contractor's most precious artifact to a small pink haired girl.

**xXxXxXx**

Sakura was rather pleased with herself.

Not only had she obtained the gem and escaped, but the only casualty was a worthless wooden wagon and she hadn't received anything worse than a few superficial scratches.

Alas, her luck was changing!

She was honestly surprised they hadn't pursued her. For a while she was afraid that they were after her and they were just so accomplished that she couldn't feel their chakra signature. But a couple minutes after her abrupt departure, she felt two chakra signatures flicker strongly behind her, going the other way.

Thank Kami.

It hadn't even occurred to her until she destroyed the wagon, that if Uchiha Itachi was present, then Hoshigake Kisame was nearby as well. It also explained why that Soji character seemed to be so wary of her, and she had felt uncertain around him. The Hoshigake had been henged amongst the civilians to keep an eye out. It was basic protocol. Hell, she'd run the same gig multiple times! How couldn't she have seen through a strategy she applied?

She shook her head in frustration at her short-sightedness. She had managed to succeed this time, but she'd have to be more wary next time. That was a genin mistake and as a missing-nin, she wasn't allowed mistakes anymore. There was nobody around to bail her out anymore if she slipped up.

Sakura had never met the blue Akatsuki member, but she had certaintly heard of him, just as she was sure he had heard of her. He must have been trying to figure out who she was the entire time.

It was irrelevant at this point in any case. She was heading back to her employer and they were going Kami knew where away from her.

With a slight smile at the thought of food to come, Sakura picked up her pace.

**xXxXxXx**

"I asked for the gem in pristine condition."

Sakura rolled her eyes. Figures she'd choose the biggest pain in the ass as a temporary employer.

They were in a rather spacious room, with two guards posted on both of her contractor's sides and two more at the door. It had only taken her a half hour to reach the man's house, but her patience was wearing thin quickly in the ten minutes she had been exposed to him and his impertinence.

"I can't be held responsible for anything that happened to the gem before it was in my possession but I can assure you that nothing has happened to it since it was recovered Taiki-san," she repeated barely keeping her anger from seeping into her tone.

"If you had gotten it sooner it might not have been damaged! I owe you nothing for this damaged rock, is that clear girl?" He shouted, banging his open palms down on his decrepit desk. "I should have known that a kunoichi was nothing compared to a true shinobi," he added under his breath.

But Sakura heard and nothing short of the fact that she didn't know where _her_ money was saved the pathetic man's life…for now.

Time for a new tactic.

"You didn't specify such a detail in our contract. Now, you've got three seconds to give me the purse in full or I'm going to start eliminating your army, starting with these gentlemen," she gestured lightly to the guards behind her and stared pointedly at the guards next to him, "_before_ killing your daughter. Is _that_ clear Taiki-san?"

Uso Taiki. Pudgy. Stupid. Rich. He was apparently the heir to his father's enterprise, and when his dad died, he had inherited a fortune and seemed to be spending it all as if it were limitless.

The man lifted his hand and snapped his fingers as his chubby face scrunched up in anger. At the sound, all four guards drew their swords and pointed the tips towards Sakura. She didn't even glance at the men, just kept staring placidly back at the disgusting pig before her.

"No one threatens my daughter's life! Kill her!"

And they charged.

It wasn't thought out or planned. There were no strategies. It was just four men swinging sharp iron and hoping to get lucky. How very pathetic.

She grabbed four senbon, two in each hand. Her right hand twisted behind her and she threw the thin needles, launching the projectiles through the men's eye socket and burying themselves deeply in their brains. Her left hand then crossed in front of her chest a millisecond before she launched the twin weapons a hairsbreath from the other two guard's face, close enough so as to make a thin red line of blood across their cheeks before sinking silently into the wooden wall behind them, successfully freezing the men in place.

With a bored look, she glanced back to Taiki as the bodies of the not so lucky guards clattered to the floor, making an obscene amount of noise with their heavy armor.

A heavy silence followed for a few seconds as the men stared in poorly concealed fear at the kunochi.

"I fulfilled my part of the bargain. You have your gem as promised. I want my money in full," Sakura enunciated slowly, her voice ringing loudly in the room as the metallic smell of blood reached her nose.

Taiki snapped out of his stupor at the order and appeared to become even more enraged. If it wasn't Sakura's food money on the line she was sure that she would be amused, but alas, she was only further irritated as she watched them man's face turn a beet red and he directed a glare at her.

"How dare you! You can't just-"

Sakura's hand flashed down again.

The guard on the right let out a small gasp as his head snapped back at the force the senbon hit him with. This time, the small weapon hit him square on his forehead, and was buried halfway into his brain. As if suspended in time, his body hung in the air for a second before it followed the momentum of his head and fell backwards. The rest of the senbon sticking straight up out of his skull, like some sick parody of a flag.

Taiki's rant was cut short at the movement, and Sakura could see him visibly pale.

"No, Taiki-san. You see, I can."

And Sakura smiled.

Taiki quickly fumbled through his desk before producing a dark drawstring bag. He threw it to Sakura in a hasty wayward fumble, but Sakura's reflexes allowed her hand to shoot out to grab the bag effortlessly. Pleased with the weight of the pouch, Sakura beamed up to the man as if nothing had occurred.

"Thank you Taiki-san, it was a pleasure doing business with you."

With a small wave, Sakura turned her back on the man and his lone remaining guard and walked out of the small castle without further incident.

She immediately wandered back to the shabby side of town, and found a half-decent looking inn and pub. Dropping a few coins on the counter after instructing the dark-haired man on what she wanted, the clerk passed her a heavy key and a sandwich. And slowly Sakura made her way up to the barren room, eating on her way up the stairs, before shutting and locking herself in the place.

Being a missing nin wasn't half of what its cracked up to be.

**xXxXxXx**

Naruto was patient to a point. He could patiently sit in a tree for hours spying or waiting for his target to come to him. He could patiently coach Konohamaru in several ninjutsu and put the aspiring shinobi through drills all day without losing his temper. He had even become slightly patient in waiting for the always tardy Kakashi to join him for ramen or a spar.

But he had absolutely no patience for sitting in Konoha doing nothing when both his teammates and family members were missing nins and both needed to be brought home.

He was currently sitting in a tree above the memorial stone sulking.

Tsunade-baa-chan had thrown him out again and threatened him with genin work for the rest of the month if she saw him again today.

He had already complained on several occasions to her, but she refused to hear him out and forbid him to leave the village to pursue the newest missing nin from Konoha.

A large part of him craved to throw away the rulebook and ignore his Hokage's orders and charge after Sakura. It had only been a month. His Sakura-chan could be lying somewhere dying for all he knew, and yet he was stuck inside. Nobody had heard anything about her whereabouts, which meant she was either an exceptional shinobi or she was no longer around for anyone to care, thus her whereabouts where pointless to know. He knew Sakura-chan was a great kunoichi, but staying off the radar for a month was an amazing accomplishment for any rogue. One so amazing that it was nearly unheard of.

Naruto's scowl became more prominent as a harsh wrinkle formed between his eyes. The great walls that had once been a security, something he looked at as keeping out bad guys and keeping them safe now only appeared as a cage that he couldn't escape.

He had never wanted to defy Tsunade-baa-chan so much. Not even when Sasuke-teme had abandoned them!

And she knew it.

Even now, he could sense the ANBU members, always two at a time, that watched him, _babysat_ him. And he was powerless to change it.

How could he be so powerful? So strong and fearless…and yet, when it counted the most and he was the most needed, he was never there to help the people he loved the most. Such a cruel twist of fate, such a cruel game.

And how could Sakura actually leave? She had been devastated when Sasuke left just as he had. How could she knowingly put him through that heart-wrenching pain again?

Naruto knew there was more to the story. There just had to be. _His_ Sakura-chan hadn't turned rogue! She just couldn't! Sakura didn't have it in her to hurt people unnecessarily, much less kill them.

He admittedly had issues trying to justify the ANBU member's death. Koji had only joined the ranks a couple weeks ago, but he was strong, even if he was impulsive (not that Naruto could begrudge him that). But Naruto was sure that if he spoke with Sakura-chan, she'd clear it up. She'd explain that it was necessary, that something had forced her hand and she couldn't have prevented the outcome.

Hell, he'd even come up with several theories to fit Sakura-chan's actions. The top one being joining Akatsuki to tear them apart from the inside out. He knew how much hate she harbored against the organization. Perhaps she had just been trying to put on a show for them and the nin's death granted her information on its members.

Or maybe she was trying to track down Sasuke-teme herself. It was certaintly not a secret that most Konoha shinobi despised the Uchiha. Perhaps he had gone too far in his insults and Sakura-chan had lost her temper (she'd never taken it that far, but being hunted down day and night while on the run with little sleep or food tends to make people a bit more extreme).

Either way, Naruto's faith in his sister's actions were unshakeable. Even if neither case were true, he knew that she had a reasonable explanation. She always did.

**xXxXxXx**

The Uchiha sat quietly at the table, a steaming cup of tea in a plain white cup sat in front of him.

They had made it back to the base before the sun came up the next day. And both had headed straight for the kitchen after reporting the contractors, missions and earnings from their month's work to Leader-sama.

And not too long after that, Deidara had wandered in.

It was no surprise to see them. The beginning of the month usually found all of the members in the main headquarters.

Deidara ignored the Uchiha as he began making light conversation with Kisame. Itachi only half-listened as the blonde went on a rant about Tobi's ineptness on a mission. He heard Deidara mention how Tobi got hit by shrapnel from one of the blonde's bombs and was knocked out for the rest of the mission, how Tobi ran away crying when one of the contractors called Tobi a "half-wit with no abilities" and several other instances that emphasized Tobi's failures as a shinobi. Kisame laughed loudly at each story, throwing in jabs at Deidara's misfortune for being stuck with such a person as a partner.

When Deidara was done with his misadventures, Kisame began in on his own tale. One involving a pink haired kunoichi from Konoha.

Itachi listened quietly as Kisame told Deidara how the pinkette had snuck right past him (he chalked it up to a hefty amount of sake of course), managed to get into the wagon without detection (of which Itachi mentally objected with since he had technically sensed her before she appeared, even if it was only a second prior, but he didn't mention it), destroyed the wagon with a flick of her finger, grabbed the jewel they were delivering and escaped.

Deidara laughed heartily at the story as he threw in a few of his own barbs at their inability and failure as shinobi to be bested by some pink haired goody-two-shoes Konoha kunoichi. But he meant it more as an insult against them then a slight against the Haruno's ability. Still, Itachi could see the blonde thinking and plotting.

Everyone knew that Deidara held a strong grudge against Itachi, after all, Itachi had forcefully recruited him. And Itachi knew that Deidara's mind had immediately grasped the concept that she had not only caught him off guard, but had managed to grab something that was practically in his possession.

Despite his hatred of the Uchiha, Deidara knew that the man was nearly a perfect shinobi with numerous strengths and no known weaknesses (at least no known to him). If this girl could pull off such a stunt, he wanted her on his side. Alone, the Stone-nin couldn't take on Itachi, but with her, they could crush him. Besides, as a Konoha rogue, she was bound to have a lot against the Uchiha, she should revel in the thought of taking him down.

Which led to his next question.

"Does Leader-sama know about this?"

Kisame leveled him with a hard look.

"We didn't see a point in telling him. She was contracted to steal it just as we were contracted to protect it. Besides, we'd already gotten the money we were supposed to. We could've caught her, there was just no point in wasting the time and energy to do it. Besides, she'd hate a place like this," Kisame replied, his previous mirth gone.

Itachi agreed with his partner.

Leader-sama would want more details and, in all probability, would want to recruit her into the organization as well. With Hidan's death, there was still an opening. But Kisame and Itachi had a silent agreement that Akatsuki was no place for anyone with morals or a conscious, both of which she had shown in the short time they'd been with her. Plus, she'd become their problem if they reported, and that was a problem neither cared to deal with.

They didn't tell because they were both more agreeable with her being a free lance rogue as opposed to one of Leader-sama's dogs.

"She'd be fun to have around though, plus I'd like to see her put the Uchiha in his place," Deidara remarked, pointing his thumb haphazardly at Itachi, still refusing to look at the nin.

"She won't be reported," Itachi said from his corner, but his tone was backed by a steel undertone that Kisame recognized immediately.

Kisame sighed heavily.

Deidara turned slowly as his eyes narrowed on the notorious Konoha rogue.

"And what control do you have over that?" Deidara challenged. "Everything is supposed to be reported to Leader-sama and a kunoichi as powerful as her needs to be mentioned. She could become a problem later on."

"She won't," Itachi replied while calmly sipping his tea while staring down the blonde.

Deidara smiled slowly. A sick demented smile that only ensured Itachi that he would not approve of Deidara's actions.

"We'll see," he mentioned lightly as he began making his way towards the corridor.

Kisame immediately blocked his path.

"Deidara, don't do something you'll regret," Kisame warned him with a harsh tone.

"Or what?" he challenged without hesitation.

"Nothing," he answered simply. "Just a friendly warning and some advice."

Deidara didn't answer, but walked by when Kisame finally stepped aside and let him pass.

As soon as Deidara was out of earshot, Kisame turned to his ever silent partner.

"Should've figured he'd take it that way," he said with a shrug.

Itachi just stared, slightly annoyed that Kisame had even told the blonde about the girl. Though he couldn't place all the blame on Kisame, he'd sat there and listened without stopping him. Neither had imagined that Deidara would ever _want_ to recruit someone considering how much he hated the organization and his own recruitment and involvment.

"Leader-sama will leave her alone for a while at least while he gathers intel on her. So she'll have at least a month of freedom after Deidara rats her out," Kisame mused out loud. "Heh, he hasn't even considered that since he brought the girl up he'll have to bring her in."

Itachi took another sip of his tea.

"She'll hate him," he mentioned quietly while staring out the small window.

"Yep, and his little plan to kill you will fall apart," Kisame agreed with a light laugh.

"Foolish."

**Yay, longest chapter yet! And Sakura crossed over into hard-core bitch mode :-O And alas, Itachi has made his appearance! And yeah, I know I've strayed from the manga and mixed up events, but that's why its called fanfiction, suck it up and deal with it. In any case, I hope everyone had an awesome New Years! **

**Please review! I'm a review-whore! Appease me :P**

**~AWtH~ **


	8. Chapter 8

_You see, Doctor, God didn't kill that little girl._

_Fate didn't butcher her and destiny didn't feed her to those dogs._

_If God saw what any of us did that night he didn't seem to mind._

_From then on I knew…God doesn't make the world this way. We do._

_~Rorschach from The Watchmen_

Chapter 8

The Decisions That Define Individuals

Itachi couldn't understand the importance of such a menial task. Nor did he personally care. But the fact that such a mission was causing him so many headaches didn't help.

Kisame and Itachi had been recently deployed by Leader-sama to fulfill a contract. Leader-sama had warned them that failure was unacceptable for this task and that any obstacles were to be eliminated immediately.

It was a simple escort job. They had to ensure the safe passage of some merchant's daughter. Apparently, this merchant was on good terms with their organization and believed in their ultimate goals, so he was a strong supporter, both socially in the country and financially.

Simple.

Uncomplicated.

And short of the fact that the fifteen-year-old girl refused to be carried or even travel by carriage, thus delaying the mission's completion, it was going just as smoothly as they had anticipated.

And yet, an hour ago, both he and Kisame had sensed a shinobi five or so miles to the west of them. This could usually be ignored. But considering how they were trekking through a dense forest and the closest town was over twenty miles away, it wasn't a coincidence and the chances their target was being sighted increased dramatically.

Kisame had done a quick reconnaissance within a five mile perimeter, but he didn't find the nin. Since then, they had both been on high alert, with the petite teenager ambling next to them in silence.

"Itachi," Kisame murmured while looking over his shoulder. "Watch the girl. I'm gonna go check something out."

Itachi stretched his senses out further, but couldn't manage to feel anything out of place. But Itachi also knew that Kisame's ability to sense another's presence was better than his own. And Samehada greatly enhanced that ability further.

Itachi gave a quick nod of his head and slipped a kunai in one hand, leaving the hand closest to the girl empty. If she was going to be attacked, he was going to have to grab her, despite her protests at being "man-handled" or whatever she wished to term it.

Kisame disappeared with a minor rustle of leaves as he blended into the forests.

The girl gasped at his sudden departure and moved slightly closer to Itachi when she realized that Kisame had left them.

At least she held some level of intellect.

"Where did Kisame-san go?" she asked quietly.

Itachi didn't bother to answer.

She was aware of their purpose and their skills. They were trained to kill people. Nothing more, nothing less. He didn't need to make her any more wary then she already was.

The silence stretched on for several more minutes before she gathered up the courage to ask the Uchiha another question.

"Do you know why people are trying to kill me Itachi-san?"

At this, Itachi looked over at the girl from the corner of his eye.

She had her head down, as if ashamed. Her hands wrung nervously in front of her and the unmistakable watering of her eyes was a clear indicator of the tears to come…and dealing with a crying girl was not on his list of things to do.

"Its not my job to know. We are to protect you, that's all I need to know," Itachi replied after a hefty consideration.

He didn't care to console anyone, but if it made this mission a little more bearable then he'd deal with it as much as he could.

"That's not fair to you!" she answered immediately, a few tears already escaping. "You shouldn't have to throw away your life for someone you don't know and not even know why!"

"I'm not," Itachi responded.

The girl was immediately confused.

"Y-you're not?" she asked softly and unsure of what he had said.

"I won't die and neither will you, so you need not concern yourself."

When Itachi looked at the girl again, she was furiously wiping her face to hide any trace of tears. For a second, Itachi wondered if even she knew why she was hunted so enthusiastically that she required protection from Akatsuki, but, in the end, it wasn't his problem.

A few minutes later, Kisame's bulk dropped down next to them.

Inwardly, Itachi was slightly irritated at the nin's carelessness. Kisame's chakra signature was still hidden and Itachi had nearly lashed out at his partner thinking it was the nin after the girl's life.

But Itachi didn't mention it, and instead he patiently waited for Kisame to report his findings. It was unlike the man to hesitate and Itachi's eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"Did you find nin anywhere in the vicinity?" Itachi finally prompted.

Kisame looked over at him.

"I didn't find the nin, but there's definitely one out there tailing us. Whenever I thought I sensed someone, it was like they just disappeared."

Kisame shrugged his massive shoulders and readjusted Samehada, switching it from his right shoulder to his left. Itachi watched the nin closely, trying to sense anything off. His instincts were screaming at him that the nin was an imposter, but Itachi's senses couldn't find anything off. Even the sword was emanating its usual bloodthirsty aura.

The only thing weird was the hand holding the sword. In all of their time together, Itachi couldn't remember seeing the man carry the massive sword on his left shoulder. Admittedly, Kisame was ambidextrous, as all shinobi are, but the action stood out as peculiar.

"Hn, did you forget the girl's water as well?" Itachi asked nonchalantly.

At this, the girl immediately perked up, a slight sense of confusion dominating her facial features. But Itachi was pleased that she held her tongue.

Kisame hesitated slightly, glancing at Itachi before his gaze landed on the girl.

Immediately, Itachi felt the change in atmosphere as Kisame's face contorted into a malicious smirk.

The sword swung from Kisame's shoulder in a wide arc, coming straight for both him and the girl.

Itachi's hand snatched the girl to his chest as he jumped out of the massive sword's range and the bladed mangeyou spun wildly in his eyes.

A small cloud of smoke engulfed the intruder and hid the nin from Itachi's vision as the henge was released. Slowly, a small frame draped with a black cloak walked out of the smoke, the nin's right hand moved towards their face and pushed the hood back. Pink hair and green eyes gleamed in the shaded woods.

"Well, that's annoying. I worked so hard to make that sword seem just like his and you saw through it. Damn Uchihas. I should have grilled Sasuke for more information on those damn eyes before he left."

Sakura had a cocky smirk on her face, and she looked rather pleased with herself Itachi noted with apprehension.

His eyes narrowed in suspicion. She looked relatively unscathed, despite the cloak's ability to hide any minor injuries, and Itachi severely doubted she could take out Kisame without more than a few scrapes to tell the tale. But then again, underestimating her had cost them the mission on their last encounter.

"Sorry that we keep meeting this way Uchiha-san, but I'm afraid that girl is my target."

Sakura's voice sounded loud in the deserted forest. Even the usual sound of the birds in the trees seemed to have been snuffed out as the tension between the two shinobi escalated.

"Then I must apologize as well Haruno-san. She is to be escorted safely, by Kisame and myself," Itachi answered quietly as he began to try and detach the girl from him.

He didn't want to risk fighting the kunoichi one-handed and putting the girl at risk. He had been waiting to put her under a genjutsu, but she seemed well versed in how to avoid the technique and he was sure that she was proficient in escaping it as well from the little information he'd found in her file.

It had been nearly two months since their last encounter and he'd taken it upon himself to try and learn a little about the rogue's techniques. He doubted they'd cross again, but he was glad he'd taken the time to find out just in case.

"Hai, I suppose I expected as much. But, just for curiosity's sake, how'd you figure out I wasn't Hoshigake-san?"

Itachi stared at her for a second before a smirk pulled at the side of his mouth.

"Kisame doesn't hesitate."

Sakura let out a small laugh.

"I should have guessed someone as impulsive as him wouldn't think twice about answering or saying something, ne?" she replied as she reached into her kunai holster and armed each hand with the sharp blade.

"Hn," Itachi answered noncommittally as he sunk into a slight crouch and took note of the quivering girl behind him.

Sakura's right hand flashed out as she threw the kunai at the girl. Itachi easily deflected it, just as Sakura intended as she flash-stepped next to the Uchiha and engaged the man in taijutsu.

A string of powerful kicks and punches flowed from them as they both strained to get the upper-hand on the other.

Itachi aimed a quick jab to her sternum, but Sakura batted it aside as if it was nothing. Her fists encased in chakra less than a second before she landed the blow. Itachi was impressed at the degree of control she exhibited with her technique, but he was still faster than her. He could read her technique as if it were in slow motion, and though he was able to evade the attacks, he wasn't able to find any open holes in her defense to land his own blows.

Sakura's leg connected with Itachi's arm guard. The metal cracked under the pressure and Sakura couldn't help the small amount of pleasure when Itachi broke the power struggle and retreated back to the fear-stricken teenager's side.

But Sakura knew she was tiring. She had gotten Kisame by surprise with a genjutsu, but it was a powerful one and it had consumed much of her chakra. Itachi already had a much deeper chakra reserve then her. Granted, the fact that he had to protect the girl greatly limited his range of motion and ability to maneuver, but this had only resulted in a few superficial injuries that he would otherwise have avoided. And, on top of that, his skill had allowed him to reduce the damage of each of her blows considerably. For every chakra reinforced kick and punch she threw at him, he managed to deflect it with a flawless technique that both awed and annoyed Sakura to no end.

It was now or never. Sakura would end up risking her life if she failed to kill the Uchiha with the move, but that was in the job description. Besides, this job would let her slink off and live easy for the next year.

It was worth the risk.

Sakura's foot connected with the ground, resulting in a large fissure. Itachi had to jump back and grab the girl or risk her falling into the crack and being killed by the debris that was certain to fall.

Sakura smirked as she flashed through several signs under her coat, hidden from Itachi's watchful gaze.

Itachi scowled as his arm tightened around the frightened girl. She was deadweight that would limit his moves and slow him down. His mind wandered briefly if the pink-haired kunoichi had indeed killed his partner or not, but he decided that it was beside the point for the moment. Kisame wasn't present to assist and he shouldn't count on the fact that the nin would be coming to his aid.

Itachi watched as chakra visibly gathered around the kunoichi's outstretched hand. It was swirling in a barely compressed ball, reminding Itachi of the Toad Sannin's favored technique, but this chakra wasn't the usual offensive chakra most nin utilized, it was green…it was medical chakra.

And then the kunoichi's palm slammed into the ground, the chakra surging underfoot, and only the Sharingan's ability to see chakra allowed Itachi to trace the mass's path straight to him. Itachi immediately made a jump back several meters as the chakra neared him at a nearly impossible rate, but instead of missing him, the chakra sparked above ground a foot or so before submerging itself again and immediately flowing towards his new location.

Just one more headache.

Sakura watched as the Uchiha tried to escape her jutsu's wrath. It had become a personal favorite of hers during her time as a rogue. Admittedly, it consumed a hefty amount of her chakra, but it was self-sustaining and no matter where the enemy went, as soon as they touched back on the ground, her jutsu would be waiting. She was naturally an earth type nin, and was proficient with wind techniques as well, thus using the porous spaces in the ground had become an easy way to take down opponents. Even trees and bushes held dead air that her jutsus could move through. There were few nins that could manage to trump to this type of offense and it suited her purposes perfectly.

Itachi bound from the ground to a branch and was immensely irritated to see that chakra not only moved towards the tree, but shot up the trunk and headed straight for him. With another jump he landed back on the ground, the girl now gripping his neck with renewed vigor and fear as his left arm held her close to his side.

His eyes looked over to the kunoichi. She was watching him. He could see the tension in her body, she was tired. He could even feel the strength of her chakra dwindling. She was using whatever bit she had left to stay upright.

She already knew what conclusion his mind had reached.

And he immediately lunged for Sakura. A kunai outstretched in his right hand, aimed straight for the kunoichi's heart.

Sakura braced herself for the attack. The chakra depletion was already slowing her reflexes and she could feel the weight of her body acutely. Despite the exhaustion, a smirk made its way to her face. This was what it meant to be a rogue. It meant proving your strength and existence everyday…and she loved it.

Sakura's right hand fumbled quickly for a kunai of its own. As soon as the weapon was in her grip she ran her thumb lightly along the rim to bring up a small trail of blood down the appendage. The small sting immediately worked to sharpen her senses.

Sakura shot forward when Itachi was a few meters away, closing the distance in an instant.

The disgusting squelch of blood met both of their ears and they stood frozen in the midst of the wreckage that was once a peaceful forest.

Itachi looked down at Sakura's hands.

Sakura's left hand was coated in blood, and the red fluid kept flowing as she gripped his equipped hand with all her might.

Admittedly, most nin would sacrifice small flesh wounds to gain the upper hand on an opponent, but Sakura had intentionally caught Itachi's kunai in her hand. And the deadly weapon had torn straight through her hand, spilling her blood all over his own hand before gathering in a large drop and falling towards the earth.

Itachi stared in morbid fascination as the entire blade stuck out of her hand, and the tip was only centimeters from her chest, from burying itself in her heart. The tip wavered back and forth slightly from the force of the two pushing back and forth. A soft _plip_, _plip_, _plip_ accentuated the small puddle forming under their joined hands from her blood.

But it was Sakura's other hand that deserved more attention. Itachi had twisted to the side to avoid her own weapon, and he'd even accounted for the added bulk of the girl in his arm. What he hadn't counted on was the girl losing consciousness and flopping around like a ragdoll as opposed to the vise grip she had earlier. With the girl no longer holding on to him, the force of his movement had flung her arm forward and left it exposed, and Sakura had taken full advantage of the opening.

Itachi broke away from the kunoichi in a quick jerk, making sure to rip the kunai buried in her hand up so as to cause as much damage as possible to her appendage.

As soon as they broke apart, Sakura dropped to one knee as her medical chakra began stanching the blood flow from her hand.

Itachi looked at the girl that slumped heavily to the side in his arm. Sakura had only managed to bury the kunai in the girl's arm, so she would live, but Leader-sama wouldn't be pleased that they had let harm come to the girl. Already the girl's blood was flowing freely down her arm and he was concerned at the amount that came from the wound.

"You should probably just drop her and worry about yourself now," Sakura told him confidently.

The Uchiha's eyes narrowed on the kunoichi. Sakura was breathing heavily, and looked completely pathetic to him, but still the smirk didn't leave her lips.

Such an infuriating and impudent shinobi.

And it suddenly hit him what she meant.

Itachi took to the trees immediately as green sparks shot up through the ground. Her previous jutsu was still in effect. His grip on the girl tightened as he took off again, trying not to jostle the girl any more than necessary. At the moment, Itachi wasn't sure if he was more irritated at the Haruno's jutsu or the fact that he didn't get to copy such a useful technique.

Just as he was about to move locations, a large shadow fell over them. Both shinobi looked up as Deidara hovered above the trees on a massive bird, a large cocky smirk plastered on his face.

"Oi, Uchiha! I was sent to help yeah," the blonde shouted down.

For once, Itachi was relieved to see the loud mouthed member. Itachi quickly scaled the tree and made the short jump onto the clay creation, gluing himself to the creature with chakra before kneeling and placing the injured girl down.

"Leader-sama's gonna be pissed," Deidara mentioned flippantly as he stared at the girl.

Itachi didn't bother to reply.

"Where's fish face anyway? She did something to him, yeah?"

"Hn."

Sakura cursed her bad luck as she glared at the flying…thing. That jutsu consumed a lot of her chakra and of course Itachi was saved by the one thing her attack can't reach. She gritted her teeth in annoyance before sending a small pulse of chakra into the ground.

Itachi looked over the side of Deidara's bird and watched as Sakura sent more chakra into the earth.

He watched as her attack immediately left the top of the tree he had just climbed and moved back toward the pinkette. When the chakra reached her, Sakura lifted the swirling chakra from the ground and began to reabsorb it.

Itachi wasn't even aware such a thing was possible. Once chakra was formed outside of the body, it couldn't be reabsorbed. It worked the same way blood did. When you're cut, blood flows out of your body and it is simply gone. Your body will replace the lost liquid, but it can't be retaken once it flows out. Such a thing was unheard of…and yet, she was doing it.

"Impressive, yeah," Deidara murmured under his breath.

Within seconds, the chakra was recirculating the kunoichi's body and her hand was completely healed. Deidara and Itachi watched as she mock saluted them and turned on her heel to retreat back in the woods.

They watched in silence until her pink-hair disappeared in the canopy. Then Deidara let out a heavy sigh as he sat down next to the bleeding girl. He took out a wrap of bandages and gauze from one of his pockets and set to work trying to stop the bleeding.

Itachi closed his eyes and traced her chakra signature until it was too far for him to sense. It wasn't until then that he looked down at the blonde.

"We need to find Kisame's body before we proceed," Itachi told the blonde.

"Fine, yeah," Deidara answered as he examined the gash, his scope whirring as it took in the damage.

It wasn't until nearly a full minute later that Deidara sat up furiously and urged the clay bird into a mad dash.

Itachi immediately tensed and looked down at the cut. Trying to see if the kunoichi had managed to get something vital, but the only injury was the girl's arm.

Itachi was about to question the blonde, but Deidara beat him to it.

"She's poisoned, yeah. And it looks bad. Her heart should slow from the blood loss, but it's faster, yeah...a lot faster. Her heart can't take that for long before it quits," Deidara shouted back.

And Itachi seethed with the information.

He had foolishly believed that the kunoichi was retreating because she realized she wasn't any match for two Akatsuki members at the same time. But she hadn't retreated at all. She had made her kill and left because her job was done.

And _he_ had _let_ her!

"South," Itachi told the blonde. "I know a medic nearby that is capable."

Deidara didn't acknowledge Itachi, but nonetheless, the bird shifted direction.

**xXxXxXx**

It seemed to take forever for the news to reach her contractor that the girl had died. Sakura was irritated that she didn't take her word for it (not that she blamed her, but still!), and she was very vocal about her impatience and annoyance. As a matter of fact, it was the girl's mother that had put the hit out. It wasn't until the news came that Sakura discovered that the girl's father was the one that had hired Itachi and Kisame to guard her.

How ironic.

Yamamoto Saya. Rich. Spoiled. And hungering for her new husband's attention to focus less on the daughter he had from a previous marriage and more on her.

So as the evil step mother lamented the news in front of her husband, Sakura watched dispassionately from the side.

She was disgusted.

After a good ten minutes of playacting the grief-stricken mother, Saya excused herself from her husband to go to her rooms. Sakura followed.

Once out of her husband's hearing, she turned to Sakura with a very self-satisfied grin.

"I'm sorry for the delay, but I'm sure you understand my wish to ensure that the job was done," Saya mentioned off-handedly to Sakura, as if she hadn't just commissioned the death of her step daughter and wasn't responsible for the shock and denial in the girl's father.

Sakura watched the woman wipe away the false tears. There was nothing to say. She understood perfectly why Saya distrusted her. But watching such a performance, Sakura was repulsed by this woman and decided that despite the shinobi training Sakura had, of the two of them, Saya was the monster. Even if she didn't directly have blood on her hands, the way she happily ordered the death of her own step daughter reassured Sakura that civilians were just as bad, perhaps worse, than the shinobi that carried out such deeds. Sakura may kill and steal for a living, but she at least had morals and a conscious that left Sakura with some amount of remorse, this seemed to be something that Saya apparently didn't possess.

Once in her contractor's rooms, Saya pulled a hefty sack from a drawer and handed it over to Sakura. Sakura gave the woman a small smirk before making a single hand sign and exiting the building in a small cloud of smoke without a word.

She reappeared on the roof of the large house and took a quick count of the bag's contents to ensure the payment was delivered in full. Once satisfied, she tucked a few of the coins into her wallet and sealed the rest up in a scroll at her hip.

She had always wanted to wander, and doing it without monetary concerns seemed like the best way to go. Maybe a visit to Stone was in order, she had never really been a tourist there, but she had heard that there were some beautiful sights to see. And Waterfall Country was supposed to have some of the most exotic tea selections. Not to mention the rumored shopping available in Mist that Ino had told her about countless times.

However, she had one more thing left to do before she could start her trip…and she couldn't wait to fulfill it.

Sakura leaped off the roof and landed lightly on the ground. The barest layer of chakra surrounding her feet to cushion the landing before she began heading south.

**xXxXxXx**

To say Itachi was pissed would have been an understatement. As a matter of fact, Kisame couldn't remember a time when he had seen the Uchiha so irritated.

Kisame had felt Itachi's chakra signature as soon as he had woken up. At first, he had been annoyed as hell that not only had he been knocked out by a pink-haired girl that was half his size, but his own partner had left him in the woods without bothering to pick him up.

Kisame knew Itachi was harsh, but that was out of character, even for the disgruntled Uchiha.

It wasn't until Kisame had reached the town and found Itachi and Deidara in the small clinic that he knew something was amiss.

"What happened?" Kisame bit out gruffly before leaning against the wall opposite of his partner.

Deidara turned to glare at him.

"The girl's dying yeah."

Kisame arched an eyebrow.

"The kunoichi knocked you out," Itachi replied mildly from the wall.

One of Itachi's best traits was knowing a situation before actually being informed of it. Kisame knew that the Uchiha was just confirming the fact. Still, this trait also annoyed the hell out of Kisame at times, namely, right now.

"Yeah," Kisame answered. "Damn brat caught me in a genjutsu and had me down before I'd been a mile away."

Deidara barked out a short laugh.

"And where were you, you damn punk?" Kisame growled at Deidara as he shifted into an offensive stance, ready to throttle the mouthy blonde.

"Kisame," Itachi called out softly.

Kisame reigned in his anger and turned towards the raven haired nin. Itachi looked calm and composed, but the tenseness was apparent through his shoulders, and Samehada informed him of the dark chakra swirling inside the Uchiha, ready to be utilized and kill the first thing it could. Itachi was pissed, and getting on his bad side at the moment wouldn't do anything for the situation, and breaking out into a flashy fight with a supposed comrade (albeit, an annoying loud and cocky comrade that needed to be put in his place) seemed like something Itachi would get irritated at for the moment.

Letting out a heavy sigh, Kisame turned back to the loud-mouthed blonde.

"You're in just as much shit if she doesn't pull through, don't act so high and mighty," Kisame warned.

Deidara opened his mouth to retaliate, but before he could the door to the girl's room opened. A brunette male, walked out slowly, his hand rubbing his temples as he walked towards the threesome waiting.

They all knew as soon as they saw his demeanor. With a soft sigh he looked up at them and shook his head.

She was dead.

"We'll stay tonight and leave to report at dawn," Itachi informed them before pushing off the wall and heading towards the exit.

Kisame shook his head in annoyance at the impending meeting with Leader-sama before following after Itachi. He paused at the doorway and looked back over his shoulder at the doctor.

"It's alright Doc, just send the bill to the usual address. Itachi didn't look like he held out much hope for her, so there's nothing you could have done. Come on Deidara."

Deidara mumbled under his breath about needing alcohol and followed his blue-skinned partner out the door, back to the hotel they usually frequented when they came through this town.

It was going to be a long day tomorrow and Deidara would be damned before he passed up on having fun the night before Leader-sama got ahold of the news...after all, there was no telling how he'd react to their failure.

**xXxXxXx**

Sakura arrived in the town an hour or so after midnight. It wasn't a necessarily far distance, but she hadn't wished to waste chakra and took her time on her way over, opting to use the more civilian method of walking to get there. The town itself was small and rather insignificant, but it was also a common rest area for shinobi sent out on missions. It wasn't uncommon to run into other nins, but it was a risk Sakura was willing to take. And considering the ungodly hour, she doubted that she'd run into any.

And lucky for her, she was well acquainted with the doctor in charge of the clinic in this town. Without pause, Sakura made the trek to the head doctor's house. It was dark inside, but as a doctor, Sakura was sure he was used to people waking him up in the middle of the night for one kind of emergency or another. And so, without further ado, Sakura walked up the steps and knocked on his door.

A light turned on a few seconds later, before a groggy and somewhat drunk man finally opened the door.

Sakura smiled softly.

"A doctor should always be sober and ready to work Chiro-san," Sakura chastised lightly.

Immediately his eyes lit up at seeing her.

"Haruno-sama! What are you doing here? And so late, come in! It's not safe for a woman to be on the streets at this hour," Chiro responded, a slight slur the only evidence of his inebriation.

"I'm still a kunoichi Chiro-san, I can take care of myself. You lose a patient today?" She asked the man.

That comment destroyed the last bit of drunken stupor Chiro held as he solemnly nodded his head.

"A young girl. She was stabbed in the arm, but it was some poison that killed her. A couple of shinobi brought her in, but it was too late. I-I can't believe someone could just kill a girl like her for-" he stopped mid rant and stared at the kunoichi before him.

Sakura was smiling. And not her usual happy smile, but something much more sadistic. Something he had never seen on her before.

"I agree Chiro-san, so let's go wake her up," Sakura answered.

Chiro stood stunned for a second before his mind caught up.

"It…it was you?" he asked softly in disbelief.

"Hai. But, mind you, I didn't kill her. Call it a bit of mischief," Sakura answered back assuredly.

"How could you…you stabbed her, you could have killed her?" Chiro shouted.

"I could have, but I didn't. Don't forget Chiro-san, I'm a shinobi before a medic. I didn't cause anything life threatening, and I had full knowledge of what I was doing. It had to be convincing. Now, either you let me into your office or I'll let myself in," Sakura said with a tone of finality.

Chiro stared at the pink haired girl for a second before sighing and pulling on his sandals.

Sakura nodded her approval as they walked in silence towards the clinic. She had figured he'd be beating himself over the loss of a patient (she'd done it enough to know how it feels), and she wanted to reassure him that all was well. But on hindsight, it may have been better to take care of it and let Chiro find the girl alive the next morning, none the wiser as to the cause or reason behind the girl's sudden resurrection.

Chiro unlocked the door of the clinic when they finally arrived and he pointed towards the room that held the body.

Sakura nodded her head at him before heading inside. The body was lying on an operating table, a white sheet covering it.

Sakura pulled the sheet back to uncover her upper body and smiled at the serene expression on the young girl's face. Sakura had merely placed the girl in a sort of hibernation. A small amount of her own chakra resided inside the girl, which not only created the state of "death" but allowed Sakura to find the girl afterwards so that she could reverse it.

As soon as Sakura discovered what the mission actually entailed she knew how she'd be handling it. Itachi and Kisame hadn't been an expected obstacle, but she had managed, though she now suspected that she was at the top of their hit list.

Green chakra formed around Sakura's hand and she lightly touched the girl's chest, disrupting the chakra that had been slowing the girl's heart to a nearly undetectable rate. The chakra immediately vanished and the girl lurched forward, her body heaving in oxygen as her heart raced to circulate blood through the teen's body.

A soft smile touched Sakura's lips as she watched the girl attempt to get her bearings.

After a minute the young blonde finally had the presence of mind to look around. As soon as the girl saw Sakura, her eyes widened in fear and her mouth opened to let out a scream. However, before a sound escaped the girl, Sakura had her hand on the back of the girl's neck and sent her drifting peacefully back into the dream realm.

"Silly girl, if I had wanted you dead, you wouldn't have stood a chance," Sakura murmured as she slowly lowered the limp body to the table and tucked the sheet around her.

"Perhaps," a deep voiced sounded behind her.

Sakura's head snapped up in attention as she whirled around, a kunai already in her hand. Sakura ground her teeth together in irritation.

Foolish. How the hell had she not noticed him!

Uchiha Itachi stood in the doorway and though his stance was relaxed, Sakura knew better.

**I know its been a while. Don't hate on me too much. I've got finals coming up (which means I should be studying, but there's only so much I can do before my mind gives out). Besides, this chapter has been nagging me for a while. Well, leave feedback if you like it!**

**Ja Ne!**

**~AWtH**


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